
GoiJy'rightN" 

caraRiTGiiT OEPosir. 



A HISTOBY 



MISSISSIPPI, 



-FROM THE ' 



DISCOVERY OF THE GREAT RIVER 

BY HERNANDO De SOTO, 

-;; INCLUDING THE 

EARLIEST SETTLEMENT MADE BY THE FRENCH, 
Under Iberville 



^5 



-TO — " 



The Death of Jefferson Davis. 



By ROBERT LOWBlf „J miUm H, MoMRDlE. 



JACKSON, MISS- 
K. H. HENRY <& CO. 

I89I. 



; 



/ 



r -^ 4 j 



Entered according to Act of Congress, April 22d, 1891, by Lowry and McCardle, 
in the office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington, D. C. 



A FEW WORDS PREFATORY. 



It is the custom in the preface to a new book_"a cu.tom 
more honored in the breach than the observance"-to sot forth 
the causes which have induced the publication. The authors 
of the present volume have nothin- of the sort to offer in ex- 
tenuation of their rash endeavor. They are without even the 
poor apology of "the solicitations of numerous Inends," and the 
yearning desire to supply "a long-felt want," to "fill an aching 
void," so to speak. 

It is not proposed to deprecate criticism of any sort, whether 
reasonable or unreasonable. In the free land of America critics- 
do much abound, and they have the unquestioned right to criticise 
A^hatsoever and whomsoever they please. 

The preparation of the volume now presented to the people of 
Mississippi has been a genuine labor of love. Each of the 
authors has spent the best years of his existence in the State. 
They have shared with their fellow-citizens the days of their 
prosperity and their years of poverty. They have rejoiced with 
them in their gladness, and have mou.med with them in then- 
long years of sorrow. Each is bound to the State by the dearest 
of human ties. Each has his dead reposing in her soil, and the 
hope of each is that when the last "tattoo" is sounded for them, 
they, too, may rest in the bosom of Mississippi beside those who- 
have preceded them to the shadowy land of the hereafter. 

If the authors know anj'thing about the matter— and they 
think they do— their domirani desire has been to perpetuate the 
memory of the sturdy pioneers of the State— those rugged, 
stalwart men of couiage, patriotism and virtue, who laid the 
foundations, broad, deep and strong, of civil liberty, social 
order, sound morality, and who reared a splendid fabric of civili- 
zation in the land. Another desire has been to rescue from ob- 
livion the names and deeds of a few men who have adorned and 
illustrated the annals of the State. Trusting that they have, 
in some small measure, succeeded in the ends aimed at, they 



4 PREFACE. 

venture to express the hope that when the youth of Mississippi, 
of both sexes, come to read these pages they will have no occa- 
sion to blush for those to whom they trace their lineage. 

It is only necessary to add that the authors of the History of 
Mississippi have consulted every available source of informa- 
tion, and the hope is expressed that more than an ordinary de- 
gree of accuracy has been obtained. 

To the friends in every county who have furnished informa- 
tion of persons and events, and the conductors of the public 
press, the authors desire to return their most grateful acknowl- 
edgments. 

In conclusion, the authors have to say in the language of an- 
other, "What is writ, is writ, would it were worthier!" And to 
the readers of this volume, gentle, or ungentle, as the case may 
be, they can only add, "and so farewell." 

THE AUTHORS. 

Jackson, Miss., April, 1891. 



S 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTBE I. 

The Discovery of the Mississippi River in A. D. 1541. 

The March of Hernando De Soto Through the Territory of Florida, Georgia, 
Alabama and Mississippi, 1539 to 1541 — His Discovery of the Mississippi 
River in 1541 — He Crosses that Mighty Stream, and after Wandering 
Through Portions of Arkansas and Western Louisiana, Dies near the mouth 
of Red River on the 21st day of May, 1542 — His Followers, under the lead 
of Muscoso de Alverado, Build Boats, and thus are enabled to descend the 
River to its mouth. Plunge into the Gulf of Mexico, and reach the Coast of 
Mexico in a state of utter Destitution — The Early Navigators of the River — 
Marquette and Joliet descend it from the mouth of the Illinois to the mouth 
of the Arkansas, in 1673 — I" 1683 La Salle and Chevalier De Tonti descend 
the River to its mouth — La Salle claims all the Territory Watered by the 
Mississippi and its Tributaries, in the name of the King of France, Louis 
XlVth, and in honor of his Sovereign, calls it Louisiana — Death of La Salle 
in 1687 ; pages 5 to 19. 



CHAPTEE II. 

Mississippi as a French Province — From 1699 to 1717. 

Arrival of Iberville — He anchors his Ships in the Harbor of Ship Island — He 
ascends the Mississippi in barges as far as the mouth of Red River — Return- 
ing he descends as far as the Manchac — From thence he makes his way to his 
Ships, Crossing Lakes Maurepas and Pontchartrain — He builds Fort Maure- 
pas at Biloxi, and establishes the Seat of Government there — SauvoUe, the 
first French Governor of the Province of Mississippi — SauvoUe dies within a 
year, and is succeeded by his brother, Bienville — He in turn is succeeded 
by Lamothe Cadillac, and he is succeeded by De L'Epinay — Louis XIV farms 
out Louisiana to Anthony Crozat for fifteen years ; pages 20 to 45. 



CHAPTEE III. 

Mississippi as a French Province From 171 7 to 1730. 
John Law, with his Banque Royal and his Mississippi Company succeeded An- 
thony Crozat in Controlling the entire Louisiana country — Bienville again 
appointed Governor — He removes the Seat of Government to New Orleans — 
Bienville is succeeded by M. Perier — Failure, flight and death of John Law — 
The frightful Massacre of the Garrison at Fort Rosalie by the Natchez 
Indians — -Murder ot the Garrison at Fort St. Peter in Warren county, on tha 
Yazoo River — Murder of the settlers around Fort St. Peter ; pages 46 to 79. 



II Contents. 

CHAPTEK IV. 

Mississippi as a French Province — From 1730 to 1763. 

The Battle of Ackia — The Disastrous Defeat of the French by the Chickasaw 
Indians — Horrible Atrocities of the Chickasaws — Bienville asks for his recall — 
Indians burned in New Orleans — A number of Natchez Indians sent to San 
Domingo and sold as slaves — France and Spain cede Florida and Mississippi 
to England — Thus ends French domination in Mississippi ; pages 80 to 106. 



CHAPTEE V. 

Mississippi as an English Province-=-From 1763 to 1781. 

Under the Meteor Flag of England — Liberal grants of land made by the 
British Crown to the soldiers — Influx of population — Increasing prosperity 
of the Province — War with France and Spain — Don Bernardo de Galvez, 
at the head of a Spanish force captures Fort Bute, at Manchac, and Fort 
Panmure, at Natchez — Later he captures Mobile and Pensacola, and thus 
gains possession of the whole of Mississippi — He establishes garrisons at Forts 
Bute, Panmure and Nogales ; pages 107 to 127. 

CHAPTEE VI. 

Mississippi as a Spanish Province — From 1781 to 1798. 

Abortive Revolt against Spain — Flight of the Principal Parties Engaged in it — 
Great Suffering among the Fleeing Fugitives — Heroism of a Woman— ^Liberal 
Grants of Land — The Cultivation of Cotton — Introduction of Mexican Seed 
—The first suggestion of Cotton-seed Oil — Georgia Establishes the County of 
Bourbon, andAppoints County Officers — The Marriage of Andrew Jackson, 
in Jefferson County — The Yazoo Fraud and the Indignation it Aroused — 
The Records ordered to be Publicly Burned — Spain Cedes the Territory to 
the United States — Arrival of Captain Isaac Guion, in Command of United 
States Troops to take Possession of the Country when the Spanish Authority 
shall be withdrawn — -Arrival at Natchez, of Louis Phillippe, Duke of Or- 
leans, and future King of France — Final Surrender of the Territory to the 
United States; pages 128 to 162. 



CHAPTEE VII. 

Mississippi as a Territory — -From 1798 to 1801. 

The Administration of Governor Winthrop Sargent — His austere manners and 
arbitrary acts, coupled with his seemingly close connection with Andrew 
Ellicott, the Astronomer of the Boundary Commission, led him into many 
troubles and rendered him exceedingly unpopular with the people — Presi- 
dent Jefferson removes him and appoints Wm. C. C. Claiborne as his suc- 
cessor; pages 163 to 180. 



Contents. hi 

CHAPTEE VIII. 

Mississippi as a Territory— From i8oi to 1804, 

The Administration of Governor Claiborne — The Contrast between Sargent and 
Claiborne greatly in favor of the latter — The advance in Population, 
Prosperity and Good Order under the rule of Governor Claiborne was most 
marked — When the President called him to other duties, the People regret- 
ted to lose him; pages 181 to 193. 



CHAPTEE IX. 

The Administration of Governor Williams from 1805 to 1809, 

The excitement occasioned by Spanish encroachments on the Frontier of Louis- 
iana — The arrival and arrest of Colonel Aaron Burr by acting Governor 
Cowles Mead — His examination before the Court — His flight and subse- 
quent arrest in Alabama — His trial and acquittal at Richmond, Virginia— 
A tempest in a tea-pot — Some account of Herman Blannerhasset, the man 
made famous by the eloquence of William Wirt ; pages 194 to 212. 



CHAPTEE X. 

Mississippi as a Territory — From 1809 to 1817. 

The Administration of Governor Holmes — The Indian War — The Massacre of 
Fort Mims, and the excitement and consternation this disaster produced 
throughout the Territory — The war with England — The Battle of New Or- 
leans — Heroic conduct of the Mississippi Troops in that great battle— They 
win the loftiest praise from General Andrew Jackson — The Constitutional 
Convention of 181 7 — The close of the existence of the Territorial Govern- 
ment — The names of the Territorial Governors — The names of the dele- 
gates in the National Congress, and who they were ; pages 213 to 245. 



CHAPTEE XI. 

The Indian Tribes of Mississippi. 

The Natchez, the Chickasaw and the Choctaw Tribes — The Biloxi and the Pas- 
cagoula Indians and other small Tribes on the Mississippi Sound — The 
Yazoo, the Tallahatchie, and the Chocchuma Indians — Pushmataha, the 
famous Choctaw Brave — The "Eagle" of his Tribe — His Death and Burial at 
the National Capital — He has "the big guns fired over him" at his own re- 
quest — Pushmataha, like the first Napoleon, "the founder of his dynasty" ; 
pages 246 to 258. 



IV Contents. 

CHAPTEE XII. 

Mississippi as a State — From 1817 to 1838. 

The Administrations of Governors Holmes, Poindexter, Leake, Brandon, Scott, 
Runnells and Lynch — Poindexter's Code — The establishment of the Plan- 
ter's Bank — The Constitution of 1832 — The era of Banking and Speculation 
runs wild ; pages 259 to 278. 



CHAPTEE XIII. 

From 1838 to 1842. 

The Administration of Governor McNutt — The Establishment of the Union 
Bank — The Issue and Sale of the Bonds of the State for Five Millions of 
Dollars — The Bank Commences Business, and in Less than Three Years it 
is a Helpless Wreck — Bankruptcy and Ruin Extended Over the Entire 
State — General Jackson Visits the Capital, and is Received by a Vast Multi- 
tude of People from Every Quarter of the State — He is Received at Natch- 
ez, and is Welcomed in an Eloquent Address by Col. Adam L. Bingaman — 
He is Received at Vicksburg by the Civil and Military Authorities — Mayor 
Folkes Welcomes Him — The Grand Reception Tendered the Old Hero by 
Hon. Wm. M. Gwin ; pages 279 to 298. 



CHAPTEE XIV. 

From 1842 to 1848. 

The Administrations of Governors Tucker and Brown — The Great Graves Defal- 
cation — Col. Johnson, of Kentucky, Visits the Capital and is Entertained by 
Governor Tucker— Governor Brown Exerts Himself to Have a Public 
School System Inaugurated in Mississippi — The " Great Commoner," Henry 
Clay, of Kentucky, Visits the Capital, and Receives an Ovation from His 
Friends — The Mexican War and the Immortal Mississippi Regiment Com- 
manded by Col. Jefferson Davis; pages 299 to 318. 



CHAPTEE XV. 

From 1848 to 1858, 

The Administrations of Governors Mathews, Quitman, Foote and McRae — Four 
Governors During a Single Year — Dgath of Henry Clay, and, the Eloquent 
Address Delivered at the Capitol by Col. Alexander K. McClung — The High 
Court of Errors and Appeals Declares the Union Bank Bonds to be a Legal 
and Binding Obligation During the Administration of Governor Foote — The 
Same Year the People Refuse to be Taxed to Pay the Planters' Bank Bonds 
— Louis Kossuth, the ex-Governor of Hungary, Visits the Capital and is 
Entertained by Governor Foote; pages 319 to 340. 



Contents. v 

CHAPTEE XVI. 

From i860 to 1864. 

The Administrations of Governor Pettus and the Secession Convention ; pages 
341 to 31:0. 



CHAPTEE XVII. 

From 1864 to May, 1865. 

The Administration of Governor Clark— He is Arrested and Sent to Fort Pulaski 
—The President Appoints Hon. Wm. L. Sharkey Provisional Governor ; 
pages 350 to 359. 



CHAPTEE XVIII. 

From 1865 to 1868. 
The Administration of Governor Humphres; pages 360 to 371. 



CHAPTEE XIX. 

From 1869 to 1874. 

The Constitutional Convention of 1868— Adelbert Ames as Military Governor— 
The Administration of Governor Alcorn— The Administration of Acting Gov- 
ernor Powers; pages 372 to 386. 



CHAPTEE XX. 

From 1874 to 1876. 

The Administration ot Governor Ames— He' resigns under Charges of Impeach- 
ment, and abandons the State forever ; pages 387 to 416. 



CHAPTEE XXI. 

From 1876 to 1890. 
The Administrations of Governors Stone and Lowry ; pages 413 to 416. 



CHAPTEE XXII. 

Educational Progress in the State. 

Early efforts to inaugurate the Public School System— Jefferson College— Chicka- 
saw School Fund— Oakland College— The University of Mississippi— The 



VI Contents. 

Agricultural and Mechanical College — The Memorial of Miss Reneau in 
favor of an institution for the Education of the Daughters of the State — The 
. culmination of her idea in the establishing of the Industrial Female College 
at Columbus— The introduction of Protestanism in Mississippi — Reverend 
Samuel Swayzee, the first Protestant Minister — Rev. Adam Cloud the second, 
and Rev. Tobias Gibson the third; pages 417 to 435. 



CHAPTEE XXIII. 

'I'HE History of the Counties. 

The early settlement and the organization of Adams, Alcorn, Amite, Attala, 
Benton and Bolivar counties, with the names of many of the early pioneers; 
pages 436 to 448. 



CHAPTEE XXIV. 

The organization and settlement or Calhoun, Carroll, Chickasaw, Choctaw, 
Claiborne and Clarke counties ; pages 449 to 462. 



CHAPTEE XXY. 

The settlement and organization of Clay, Coahoma, Copiah, Covington, DeSoto 
and Franklin counties ; pages 463 to 477. 



CHAPTEE XXVI. 

The organization and settlement of Greene, Grenada, Hancock, Harrison, Hinds, 
Holmes and Itawamba counties ; pages 478 to 495. 



CHAPTEE XXVII. 

The settlement and organization of Issaquena, Jackson, Jasper, Jefferson and 
Jones counties ; pages 496 to 508. 



CHAPTEE XXVIII. 

The settlement and organization of Kemper, Lafayette, Lawrence, Lauderdale, 
Leake and Lee counties ; pages 508 to 521. 



CHAPTEE XXIX. 

J 

The settlement and organization of Leflore, Lincoln, Lowndes, Madison, Marion 
and Marshall counties ; pages 522 to 537. 



Contents. vii 

CHAPTEE XXX. 

The settlement and organization of Monroe, Montgomery, Neshoba, Noxubee, 
Newton and Oktibbeha counties; pages 539 to 551. 

CHAPTEE XXXI. 

The settlement and organization of Panola, Pearl River, Perry, Pike, Pontotoc 
and Prentiss counties ; pages 552 to 562. 



CHAPTEE XXXII. 

The settlement and organization of Quitman, Rankin, Scott, Simpson, Sharkey 
and Smith counties ; pages 563 to 578. 



CHAPTEE XXXIII. 

The Settlement and Organization 01 Sunflower, Tallahatchie, Tate, Tippah, 
Tishomingo and Tunica Counties ; pages 579. to 589. 



CHAPTEE XXXIV. 

The settlement and organization of Union, Warren, Washington, Wayne, Web- 
ster and Wilkinson counties ; pages 590 to 607. 



CHAPTEE XXXY. 

The settlement and organization of Winston, Yalobusha and Yazoo counties ; 
pages 608 to 616. 



CHAPTER XXXVI. 

The establishment of Jackson as the Permanent Seat of Government; pager, 617 
to 623. 



CHAPTEE XXXVII. 

The Men Who Have Served the State in the Senate of the United States, and in 
the House of Representatives ; pages 624 to 633. 



CHAPTEE XXXVIII. 

The Judiciary of Mississippi, and the Men Who Have Honored the Bench ; 
pages 631 to 639. 



VIII Contents. 

CHAPTEE XXXIX. 

The Great War Between the States; pages 637 to 639. 

CHAPTEE XL. 

The Life, Services and Character of Jefferson Davis, the First and only Presi- 
dent of the Confederate States of America — His Death and Burial ; pages 
640 to 648. 



CHAPTER I. 



DISCOVERY OF THE MISSISSIPPI BY HERNANDO 
De SOTO, A. D., 1541. 

THE History of Mississippi commences with the dis- 
covery of the Imperial River whose name it bears, 
by Hernando De Soto, and his steel-clad warriors of Spain, 
in the month of May, A. D., 1541. 

There can be no question that this band of hardy and in- 
trepid adventurers were undeniably the first Europeans 
whose feet ever pressed the virgin soil of what is now 
known as the independent commonwealth of Mississippi. 

The vain search of the knightly Ponce de Leon for gold 
and the fi 'ed Fountain of Life, in Florida, in the year 
1513; his u..,astrous defeat by the native Indians, and his 
tragic death, are facts well known to all students of history. 

The next expedition to Florida, in order of time, was 
that led by Pamiilo de Narvaez, a Hidalgo of Castile, of 
the loftiest lineage and the bluest blood of old Spain, in 
the year 1528. Having received from Charles the Fifth a 
grant of Florida as far as the River of Palms, de Narvaez 
sailed in 1527 with live ships and a force of some six hun- 
dred well equipped men. He debarked in what is now 
known as ^ampa Bay. in the month of April, 1528, and 
marching i dand with three hundred of his followers, 
reached Apalache in the following June. The hope of 
finding go] and acquiring vast wealth, having proved a 
vain and i isory dream, a return to the coast was deter- 
mined on, and the Bahia de los Caballos, presumed to be 
near what is now known as St, Marks, was reached during 
the month of July. Having constructed a number of frail 
vessels, they sailed September 22d, in the hope of reach- 
ing the coast of Mexico. The vessel which bore de Nar- 
vaez, and his fortunes, was driven to sea in a storm, and 
the bold adventurer perished beneath the waves. His 
Lieutenant, Cabeza de Vaca, succeeded, with three com- 

\ 



^ HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

panions, in reacliing land, and made their way tlirough 
what is now known as Texas, to the Gulf of California. 
The disasters of Ponce de Leon and Pamfilo de Narvaez, 
so far from dulling the appetite of the daring and ad- 
venturous spirits of that day for dangerous explorations in 
America, seemed to lend additional interest to Florida, the 
beautiful land of flowers. Spain was then one of the most 
powerful nations of Europe, and her soldiers were recog- 
nized as among the bravest and best. The thirst for glory 
and the desire for amassing great wealth, which all hoped 
to find in the New World, was then as great as it is to-day, 

and has ever been. _ , x. ^ ^ . 

The first in fame and fortune to follow m the footsteps 
of Ponce deLeon and Pamfilo de Narvaez, came in the 
person of Hernando Be Soto, a native of Xeres de Caballe- 
ros, in Estremadura. De Soto was born in A. D., 1496, only 
four years after Christopher Columbus, " the world-seek- 
ins: Geonese,^' had made his name immortal by the dis- 
covery of America. He was descended from a decayed and 
impoverished family, yet one highly respectable and ot 
o-ood position. The young explorer was poor, as a mat- 
ter of course, but not less ambitious and aspiring than the 
fallen angel, Lucifer himself. He was indebted to the gen- 
erous kindness of Pedrarious Davila for the means of pros- 
ecuting his studies at one of the universities of Spain. _ in 
1519 then in the twenty-third year of his age, he joined 
his patron Davila, then Governor of the Island of Cuba, 
in his second Darien expedition, where he became con- 
spicuous for courage and soldierly qualities. He is next 
heard of in 1528, engaged in exploring the coasts ot Guate- 
mala and Yucatan, and four years later, in 1532, he is 
found at the head of some hundred soldiers, accompany- 
ing Francisco Pizarro— the discoverer of Peru, and finally 
its conqueror— in his invasion of the land of the Incas. 

Here De Soto became distinguished for daring courag;e 
and skill and he it was who discovered the pass through 
the mountains to Cuzco, which led to the capture of that 
place In the assault on Cuzco and other military opera- 
tions, he not only added to the high reputation he had 
previously acquired, but what was not less desirable m 

/ 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 7 

his eyes, he accumulated enormous wealth, the ill-gotten 
spoil torn from the unfortunate and plundered Peruvians. 
Returning to Spain alter the conquest of Peru, with a bril- 
liant reputation as a gallant and successful goldier, the 
possessor of immense wealth, the owner of a handsome 
person, and possessing fine manners, and a courtly, soldierly 
bearing, it is no marvel that he should have won the heart, 
and married the beautiful daughter of his early friend and 
patron. Governor Davila, the lovely and fascinating Donna 
Isabella Bobadilla, and was henceforth enabled to " main- 
tain," as the ancient chronicles tell us, "all the state that the 
house of a nobleman requireth." This serene and happy 
life was destined to be of brief duration. The young 
husband was soon to bid adieu to all quiet, to engage in a 
wilder enterprise, to follow two disastrous expeditions to 
Florida, to encounter greater difficulties and dangers than 
any he had previously met and overcome. 

His sovereign, Charles Y — to whom De Soto loaned large 
sums of money — to manifest, as well his confidence as his 
gratitude, made him a grant "ninety miles long by forty -five 
miles wide," in the land of flowers, with the appointment 
of Governor of the Island of Cuba, and Adelantado, or 
President of Florida, which was then regarded as a New 
Eldorado, another Peru, where were to be found vast treas- 
ures of gold, silver and precious stones, ready to be 
gathered by the hands of the first adventurous explorer 
who should land upon its shores. He sailed from Spain 
in November, 1538, and after touching at Havana, anchored 
his fleet in Santo Espiritu Bay, (now known as Tampa 
Bay,) on the west coast of Florida. Hon. Claries Gayarre, 
the venerable and eloquent historian of Louisiana, thus 
describes the scene at the landing of De Soto and his steel- 
clad warriors: 

"On the 31st day of May, 1539, the bay of Santo Espi- 
ritu, in Florida, presented a curious spectacle. Eleven 
vessels of quaint shape, bearing the broad banner of Spain, 
were moored close to the shore ; one thousand infantry and 
three hundred and fifty cavalry, fully equipped, were land- 
ed in proud array under the command of Hernando DeSoto, 
one of the most illustrious of the companions of Pizarro, 



8 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

in the conquest of Peru, and reported one of the best 
lances of Spain." * * * * -^ In sooth, it must have 
been a splendid sight. Let us look at the glorious pageant- 
ry as it sweeps by through the long vistas of those pine 
woods. How nobly they bear themselves, those bronzed 
sons of Spain, clad in refulgent armor. How brave that 
music sounds. How fleet they move, those Andalusian 
chargers, with arched necks and dilated nostrils." 

Beyond all question the force with which De Soto landed 
in Florida, was the largest, the best appointed, the most 
richly furnished and better disciplined than any that had 
previouslybeen seen in the new world. Among his follow- 
ers were some of the best known knights and approved 
soldiers of Europe. Among other illustrious names were 
to be found those of Don Juan de Guzman, Pedro Calderon, 
Gonzalvo de Cordova, Vasconcelles de Silva, of Portugal, 
without a superior in birth and courage, Nuno Tobar, and 
last, but not least, was Muscoso de Alvarado, who ranked 
next to De Soto himself, and whom the latter named for 
commander of the expedition previous to his death. These 
men, and many other bronzed veterans, had shivered lances 
on many a stricken field, and with these hardy men of war 
were a large number of cadets of the noblest families of 
Spain, beardless young fellows, who followed the standard 
of De Soto, in search of gold and glory, as eagerly as they 
would have trooped to a bridal feast. There were holy 
fathers, too, a retinue of priests, twenty-two in number, 
inflamed with an ardent desire to spread the gospel of our 
Saviour Jesus Christ, and ready to grasp the crown of the 
martyr in His holy cause. 

In the month of June, 1539, he put his command in 
motion for the interior, twenty-six horsemen and sixty 
infantry soldiers constituting the advance guard. It is not 
proposed to cumber these pages with the details of his 
tortuous and erratic marches and countermarches through 
a vast and untrodden wilderness, a primeval solitude, 
which with this brilliant and formidable force he proposed 
to explore and subdue. Even if his exact route could be 
traced it could serve no good purpose to follow him through 
trackless and almost impenetrable forests ; to mark his 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 9 

weary way over swamp and morass, through tangled brake 
and briar, or to cross with him many a broad and rushing 
river. To less purpose, even, would it be to recount the 
details of his innumerable battles with the red men of the 
forest in defense of their homes. The original owners of 
the soil they occupied, they held it by a title more inde- 
feasible than any parchment ever signed by the hand of an 
earthly monarch. The American Indians received a patent 
for their lands from the hand of the Creator of the world 
Himself. 

It is known, though all efforts to follow the exact line of 
the march of De Soto have proved futile, that he and his 
followers wandered aimlessly through the territory com- 
prised within the limits of the present States of Florida, 
Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi and a portion of the ex- 
treme southern part of Tennessee. His entire progress 
through these various territories was marked by one con- 
tinuous scene of battle and bloodshed, by day and by 
night. The Indian tribes through whose country they 
passed, seemed to know, intuitively, that the advent of 
the white man on this continent boded no good for them, 
and hence they determined to fight their invaders. They 
met them at every point, disputed every inch of ground, 
with a courage as heroic, a fortitude as sublime, and a con- 
stancy as unyielding, as the annals of patriotism have re- 
corded in any age or in any clime. 

Col. Claiborne, in his interesting volume, "Mississippi 
as a Province, Territory and State,"' pays the following 
well deserved, glowing and eloquent tribute to the native 
red men of the South : 

'^ Remembering their victorious achievements in Mexico 
and Peru, they (the Spaniards) anticipated an easy con- 
quest. But everywhere on their route, on the surf- washed 
sands of Florida, in the canebrakes of the Tombigbee, 
amidst the hills of Coosa, on the prairies of Chickasaw, 
and in the swamps oi the Great River, they encountered a 
race of men as patient, subtile, remorseless and as intrepid 
as themselves. Their march was one protracted conflict, 
interrupted only by battles as obstinate and bloody as any 



10 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

recorded in history. No soldiers ranked in those days 
with the iron-clad cavaliers of Spain, 

" The savages who fought them at Maubila and Chicka- 
saw exposed their naked breasts to the shining armor and 
terrible lances of veterans, and died as nobly as the men 
of Thermopylae and Marathon. Then, as ever since, in 
conflict with trained armies, this heroic race of southern 
red-men have resisted the invaders of their country with a 
constancy above all Greek, above all Roman fame. " 

It is believed that De Soto and his followers crossed the 
Tombigbee river near where the city of Columbus is now 
located, in Lowndes county, and thus entered what is now 
the State of Mississippi, for the first time, in the month of 
December, 1540. He made his way to the neighborhood of 
the site of the town of Pontotoc, in Pontotoc county, 
where he proceeded to establish a fortified camp, with 
towers and bastions in conformity with the fashion of such 
works in Europe, and went into winter quarters, to afford 
his weary men and jaded horses a much needed rest and 
recuperation. This fortified camp was in the close neigh- 
borhood of one of the principal towns of the Chickasaws, 
and the residence of their chief. With these Chickasaws 
and their chief, De Soto maintained very amicable relations 
for a time, frequently exchanging visits with their head 
men, and occasionally entertaining the latter, but he soon 
gave the Indians mortal offense, which is thus described in 
Claiborne's volume : 

'• The chronicle relates that De Soto was in the habit of 
regaling his visitors on fresh pork, a fiesh that they had 
never before tasted; they soon commenced stealing his 
hogs, no doubt by the order of the chief, and whenever 
the thieves were caught, the Spaniards chopped off their 
hands and let them go, a punishment the Chickasaws deeply 
resented. " 

Continuing, Col. Claiborne says : " The winter of 1540-41 
was unusually severe, and it was not until March that 
De Soto thought of leaving his comfortable quarters. He 
then demanded two hundred men to carry his baggage. 
This ended the truce. One dark, tempestuous night his 
camp was suddenly- attacked. The Chickasaws rushed upon 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 11 

it in four detachrrients, one on each side of the square, with 
yells and clamor that rose above the fury of the elements. 
With burning arrows they set on tire the thatched huts 
within the walls, and the roofs of the stables where the 
horses were sheltered. It was a complete surprise. DeSoto 
was the first to mount. He charged, attended by a solitary 
soldier, but they were soon followed by the rest, and it 
was difficult to distinguish the roar of the tempest from 
the clamor of the battle ; a lurid light streamed from the 
burning camp over the wounded and the dead. At length 
the Indians withdrew, pursued by the Spaniards as far as 
they could see how to slay them by the blaze of their burning 
fortress. Day dawned upon their disasters. Forty cava- 
liers and troopers lay dead ; fifty horses had been killed 
or burned ; the swine had mostly perished in the flames ; 
the remnant of their baggage saved at Maubila, and most 
of their clothing, was here lost. 

" The exact position of this entrenched camp is still in- 
dicated by the vestiges that remain. Some persons con- 
tend that De Soto left this stronghold, advanced to Chica- 
silla, one mile northwest from where Pontotoc now stands, 
and commenced the attack on the Chickasaw towns. This 
would reverse the detailed accounts of the writers who ac- 
companied him, who must be accepted as the best author- 
ity when their statements can be reconciled with proba- 
bilities. It is not probable that De Soto would have sought 
a battle with the warlike Chickasaws, in the heart of their 
own territory, where they could readily concentrate their 
entire strength against him. He had no intention to con- 
tinue in their country ; was, in fact, preparing to leave it ; 
they had nothing to tempt his ambition or cupidity ; and 
he had no motive for seeking a battle, which, whether vic- 
torious or defeated, must materially cripple him. His ter- 
rible fight at Maubila, and on the Black Warrior, where 
the Indians attacked him three times in his entrenchments, 
was sufficient proof of their prowess, and beyond a doubt 
he was preparing to get peaceably out of their country, 
when they assaulted his camp. History records no bolder 
enterprise. A fortified camp, defended by the best soldiers 
of Europe, armed with what the Indians called ' thunder 



12 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

and lightning," attacked by naked savages with bows and 
war clubs ! 

" xlll honor to this noble race of warriors. These native 
Mississippians, who subsequently, in defence of their 
homes and firesides, defeated and disgraced three French 
armies sent to subdue them. And may this ever be the 
fate of the invaders of the territory of a free people." 

It will be seen that Claiborne and Gayarre differ mate- 
rially in regard to the time at which the fortified camp of 
De Soto was attacked by the Chickasaw Indians. Claiborne 
gives the month of March as the time when the assault 
was made, while Gayarre, on the other hand, fixes the 
period of the assault in the month of January. The latter, 
in describing the attack of the Indians, says : 

" In the dead of a winter night, when the cold wind of the 
north, in the month of January, 1541, was howling through 
the leafless trees, a simultaneous howl was heard, more 
hideous far than the voice of the tempest, the Indians rush 
impetuous, with fire-brands, and the thatched roofs which 
sheltered the Spaniards are soon on fire, threatening them 
with immediate destruction. The horses rearing and plung- 
ing in wild affright, and breaking loose from their liga- 
ments ; the undaunted Spaniards half naked, struggling 
against the devouring element and the unsparing foe ; the 
desperate deeds of valor performed by De Soto, and his 
companions ; the deep-toned shouts of St. lago and Spain 
to the rescue ; the demon-like shrieks of the red warriors ; 
the final overthrow of the Indians ; the hot pursuit by the 
light of the flaming village, form a picture highly exciting 
to the imagination, and cold indeed must he be who does 
not take delight in the strange contrast of the heroic war- 
fare of chivalry on one side, and of the untutored courage 
of man in his savage state, on the other." 

It is preferred to follow Gayarre, for the reason, that 
during his long residence in Europe, with his scholarly 
tastes, and his familiarity with the French and Spanish 
languages, and his opportunities of consulting the original 
reports to be found in the archives of both Spain and 
France, give him decided advantages over Claiborne in 
treating of events transpiring in the new world three cen- 
turies and a half ago. 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. IB 

Mr. Gayarre, in referring to the ponderous volumes of 
the Spanish historian, Garcillasso, who recounts with great 
particularity the many incidents of the march of DeSoto? 
and his constantly recurring conflicts with the Indians 
through whose territory he was passing, in a fine burst of 
enthusiasm, says : 

" What more interesting than the reception of De Soto, 
at the court of the Princess Cofachiqui, the Dido of the 
wilderness? What battles, what victories over men, over 
the elements themselves, and over the endless obstacles 
thrown out by rebellious nature ? What incredible physi- 
cal difficuties overcome by the advancing host ? How 
heroic is the resistance of the Mobilians and of the Ala- 
bamas ! With what headlong fury those denizens of the 
forest rush upon the iron-clad warriors, and dare the thun- 
der ot those whom they take to be the children of the Sun I 
How splendidly described is the siege of Mobile, where 
women fought like men, and wrapped themselves in the 
iiames of their destroyed city, rather than surrender to 
their invaders !" 

Following the disastrous assault by the Chickasaw In 
dians upon his fortified camp, De Soto resumed his weary 
march in a northwesterly direction, and during the month 
of May, 1541, reached the Chickasaw bluff near where the 
prosperous and populous city of Memphis now stands. 

What were the emotions of the daring explorer when he 
first beheld the turbid billows of the world's mightiest 
river, the Imperial Mississippi, rolling in solemn, silent 
grandeur to the sea, no mortal man can ever know ; but if 
the veil which hides all of the future from human eyes 
could have been lifted at that moment, and De Soto could 
have looked into the dim future for three centuries and a 
half, how his eyes would have brightened, how his brain 
would have been fired, and how his heart would have 
glowed and expanded ac the exulting thought that his 
name would be inseparably linked, for all time, with the 
niiglit}'^ river, upon which he, the first of all Europeans, 
liad been permitted to gaze. Little did he dream then that 
the great river which flowed at his feet was the reservoir, 
the receptacle of the hundreds of streams that permeate 



14 ' HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

and make glad the soil of thirty great States and Territo- 
ries yet to be ; that rich and populous cities would arise 
on its banks, rivaling the wealth of ancient Tyre ; that 
upon its broad and affluent bosom should be annually 
borne a commerce richer and more valuable than his wild- 
est imaginings of wealth had ever compassed ; that splen- 
did specimens of marine architecture, mighty ships of 
war, propelled by a power of which he had never heard, 
should cleave its billows, and " walk the waters like a 
thing of life" ; and finally, that the vessels with which he 
was familiar, as compared with the ships and boats des- 
tined to float upon the great river upon which he was gaz- 
ing for the first time, would appear as the merest toys, like 
the card-built fabrics of a child's fancy, opposed to the 
rugged, rock-built structures reared by Titan hands. 

It is not proposed to follow De Soto in his futile and aim- 
less marches through the wilderness of the present State 
of Arkansas and western Louisiana. It is sufficient for 
the present purpose to say, that having floundered for 
nearly a year through dark forests and quagmires innu- 
merable, he again reached the Mississippi, near, as is sup- 
posed, the mouth of Red River. Here De Soto, worn down 
by more than three years of ceaseless toil, conflicts and 
dangers, disappointed in his dearest hopes, having lost 
two-thirds of the men who followed his standard, sickened 
and died on the 21st day of May, 1542. His body, first 
interred in the earth, was finally buried beneath the waters 
of the great river he was the first to discover. The life, 
death, and burial-place of Hernando De Soto add impres- 
sive emphasis to the line of the poet: 

"The paths of glory lead but to the grave." 

A pathetic story is told of his beautiful wife, the lovely 
and fascinating Isabella Bobadilla, who was impatiently 
awaiting his return ac Havana ; waiting with the fond fidel- 
ity of a loving wife, waiting with that yearning, sickening 
pain, which " hope deferred " is ever sure to bring to the 
heart of woman ; and finally, when the tidings of her hus- 
band's death reached her, having heard no word of, or from 
him, since they parted five years before, her gentle spirit 
was crushed, her heart was broken, she drooped like a lily 



HISTOKY OF MISSISSIPPI. 15 

on a broken stem, in three days she was a corpse, and 
" beautiful in death she lay." 

For nearly three centuries and a half the sad sea waves 
have been murmuring her requiem, for the same period of 
time the sweet south wind has been breathing her lullaby, 
and for all these years the flowers of the tropics, flowers 
of the brightest hues and the most delicious odors, have 
been shedding their sweetest perfume above the grave of 
the beautiful and hapless Isabella Bobadilla DeSoto. 
May we not hope that, 

"After life's fitful fever she sleeps well." 

The disheartened followers of De Soto, now reduced to 
one-third of their original number, under the leadership of 
Muscoso de Alvarado, whom he had appointed his succes- 
sor previous to his death, attempted to reach Mexico by a 
journey over land. After a long and weary march, during 
which they suffered many dangers and privations, they 
reached the Rio Grande and the mountainous region which 
lies between Texas and Mexico, and here they determined 
to retrace their steps, and return once more to the great 
river. Arrived at their destination, near the mouth of Red 
River, they built a number of brigantines for the purpose 
of descending the Mississippi to its mouth, and in these frail 
barques they hoped to make their way to Havana, or to 
some port on the coast of New Spain, as Mexico was then 
called. They reached the mouth of the river, being pur- 
sued and harassed, by night and by day, by countless 
swarms of hostile foes, and launched boldly upon the wa- 
ters of the Gulf of Mexico. After a voyage of ninety days, 
a voyage of untold suffering and privation, less than three 
hundred of those who had so proudly and with such high 
hopes landed with De Soto, on the soil of Florida, less 
than five years before, arrived at the port of Panuco on 
the coast of Mexico, in a state of utter and absolute desti- 
tion, and from there the most of them made their way to 
Havana, and from thence they managed to return to their 
homes in Spain. 

From the day the Spaniards emerged from the Missis- 
sippi with their frail barques, the surface of that mighty 



16 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

Stream was unrufla.ed for nearly a century and a half, save 
by the canoe and paddle of the native Indiar^In 1678, 
however, Father Jacques Marquette, a Jesuit missionary, a, 
native of France, who had been living in Canada for a 
number of years, and Louis Joliet, a merchant trader, 
organized a party in Canada for the exploration of the 
great river of which they had heard so much from the In- 
dians. After undergoing great fatigue and yet greater 
perils, they reached the Mississippi by an overland jour- 
ney, at a point where, it is supposed, Prairie du Chien now 
stands, on the 7th day of July, 1673. After spending a 
few days at this point for rest and recuperation, the monk 
and the merchant, " the prototypes of two great sources of 
power, religion and commerce,'- as Gayarre terms them, 
embarked upon the broad bosom of the mighty stream and 
descended it as far as the mouth of the Arkansas. They 
were everywhere met by the Indians inhabiting either 
shore of the river with great kindness, and established the 
most amicable relations with them. Fearing that they 
might be arrested by Spaniards below there, and believing 
that they were much nearer the coast than they were, Mar- 
quette and Joliet ascended the river to the original poin t 
of embarkation, and made their way back to Quebec, from 
whence they had started. ' The intelligence that they had 
explored the wondrous river for hundreds of miles, was re- 
ceived in Quebec with every manifestation of rejoicing, and 
Gayarre tells us that " the bells of the cathedral tolled 
merrily for a whole day. and the Bishop, followed by his 
clergy and the whole population, sang a Te Deum at the 
foot of the altar." 

Seven years later, in 1680, Robert Cavalier de La Salle, a 
native of Rouen, France, originally educated for the 
church, who had for some years resided in Canada, deter- 
mined to organize a party for the exploration of the Mis- 
sissippi to its mouth. He left Quebec with forty soldiers, 
the Chevalier de Tonti, a native of Italy, who had served 
with distinction in the army of France, a man of unques- 
tioned courage and fidelity, and as he afterwards proved, a 
devoted friend of his companion, La Salle. There were 
three monks who accompanied the party, each anxious' to 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 17 

proclaim the gospel to the benighted red men of the wilder- 
ness. The sufferings of La Salle and his companions in 
their weary march through dense forests of hundreds of 
miles in extent, may be better imagined than described. 
On his arrival at the spot where Peoria, in the State of 
Illinois, now stands, he proceeded to build a fort for protec- 
tion against the Indians, and the deplorable condition in 
which he found himself and his party may be guessed 
from the name he gave the fort he was building; he 
called it Creve CcBur, the fort of the " broken heart." 
Leaving Tonti in command of Creve Coeur he returned to 
Quebec in mid- winter, with only two companions, travel- 
ing nearly a thousand miles, and exposed to great dangers, 
suffering and hardship. Returning in the spring to Peo- 
ria, on the Illinois river, he soon descended that stream 
to its mouth where it pours its wealth of waters into the 
broad bosom of the King of Floods. Here he remained for 
some time in preparation for the arduous work before him, 
the exploration of the Mississippi to its entrance to the 
sea. In the month of April, 1682, the month of birds, 
buds and blossoms, La Salle is found at the mouth of the 
Mississippi, "and in the name," says Gayarre, (as appears 
by a notarial act still extant,) "of the most puissant, most 
high, most invincible, and victorious Prince, Louis the 
Great, King of France, took possession of all the country 
which he had discovered." He also undertook to belittle 
the great river, by bestowing upon it the name of Colbert, 
a minister of France under Louis the Great, but he imag- 
ined a vain thing— his effort was futile. He claimed the 
entire country watered by the Mississippi and its tributa- 
ries, and in honor of his sovereign, Louis XIV of France, 
he called the immense territory, which now constitutes 
thirty great States and Territories, Louisiana ! 

Returning to Quebec, La Salle sailed in 1684 for France, 
where he went to lay the title deeds of a vast domain, an 
empire in itself, at the feet of his sovereign. Such gifts 
are never disdained by royalty, and as his reward La Salle 
was ennobled, a tieet of four vessels was placed at his dis- 
posal with all that was necessary to establish a colony. 
2 



18 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

The fleet sailed from France, but the expedition was a 
melancholy failure. Differences of an irreconcilable char- 
acter soon arose between La Salle and the officers of the 
fleet, and the friction between them became so great, and 
the ill-feeling thus developed grew so deep and bitter, that 
a disastrous failure must have been apparent. The fleet 
failed to reach the mouth of the Mississippi, but went many 
miles west, touched on the coast of Texas, and anchored 
in the bay of San Bernardo, near where the town of Mata- 
gorda now is. In entering the bay the store-ship of the 
expedition was wrecked on an island. A few days later 
Beaujeu, the senior officer of the fleet, sailed away for 
France, leaving La Salle only one ship, and this was, a few 
months later, wrecked, leaving him absolutely without 
means of reaching the mouth of the Mississippi. He was, 
therefore, compelled to build a fort to protect his people 
from hostile attacks, and this, again, in adulation of his 
sovereign, he called St. Louis. La Salle and his men sufl'ered 
much from disease and the frequent attacks of the Indians, 
and in the early part of the year 1687 his party of more 
than two hundred men were reduced to something like 
forty. Taking with him twenty men, and leaving the rest at 
Fort St- Louis, he determined to endeavor to reach Canada, 
and thus be able to succor the men left behind him. After 
thus wandering wearily through the forests of Texas for 
nearly three years, undergoing many sufferings, dangers 
and hardships, he was finally murdered by men of his 
own party in January, 1687, and was buried near where the 
town of Washington now stands. Thus perished Robert 
Cavalier La Salle, in the forty -fifth year of his age. He was 
worthy of a happier destiny. A man of high, heroic na- 
ture, of dauntless courage, boundless ambition, tireless 
energy and a fortitude that was sublime, he deserved a 
better fate. As the first white man to navigate the Mis- 
sissippi from the mouth of the Illinois to the Gulf of Mex- 
ico, his name will live as long as the great river flows sea- 
ward. 

Learning that La Salle was returning to Louisiana with 
ships to establish a colony, his devoted friend, the Che- 
valier de Tonti, hastened down the Mississippi River to 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 19 

meet and welcome him at its mouth. This was not to be. 
As the reader already knows, La Salle had been driven 
westward to the shores of Texas, and thus these devoted 
friends met no more on earth. 

It is amusing, at the present day, to learn what vague 
notions La Salle and the men of his time entertained 
of the geography of the continent of i^merica, and the 
source of the Mississippi. For instance, we read that 
'' La Salle made explorations of the country lying between 
the great lakes and the Ohio river, and leaving his trading 
post at La Chine, above Montreal, he sought to reach China 
by way of the Ohio, which the Indians believed emptied 
into the Pacific Ocean?'' 

Equally idle and absurd were his ideas in regard to the 
source of the Mississippi River. In a conference he had 
with Count Frontenac, the then Governor of the Province 
of Canada, La Salle informed that functionary as follows : 

'' From the information which I have been able to collect, 
I think I may affirm that the Mississippi draws its source 
somewhere in the mcinity of the Celestial Empire, and that 
France will be not only the mistress of all the territory 
between the St. Lawrence and the Mississippi, but will com- 
mand the trade of China, flowing down the new and 
mighty channel which I shall open to the Gulf of Mexico." 
That the views of La Salle in regard to the source of the 
Mississippi were idle, every school boy of the present 
day knows ; but the school boy of our times is far ahead 
of many learned men of two centuries ago, especially in 
their knowledge of geography, the mechanic arts, and 
human progress. 

The dream of La Salle, that "France was to be the mis- 
tress of all the territory between the St. Lawrence and the 
Mississippi," was equally vain, and to-day the flag of that 
nation floats above no foot of soil on the continent of 
America. 



CHAPTER II. 



MISSISSIPPI AS A FRENCH PROVINCE, 1699 to 1717. 

IN the month of February, 1699, Pierre Lemoyne d'lber- 
ville. a naval officer who had won high distinction on 
the ocean in the service of France, arrived in the waters 
of what is now known as " the Mississippi Sound," in com- 
mand of three fi*igates and two store-ships, and cast anchor 
in the roadstead of Ship Island, then, as now, one of the 
safest and most capacious harbors to be found on our 
entire southern coast. 

The sagacity of Iberville, in selecting the roadstead of 
Ship Island as a safe anchorage, has been vindicated many 
times in the nearly two centuries which have elapsed since 
first he cast anchor there. Vessels have ridden at anchor 
in safety under the protection of Ship Island during the 
wildest storms. In regard to the capacity of that road- 
stead, it is only necessary to state that the British fleet co- 
operating with General, Sir Edward Packenhara, against 
New Orleans in 1814-15, consisting of more than thirty 
vessels, and carrying two hundred and ninety-eight guns, 
were assembled and rode at anchor in entire safet}^ in the 
harbor of Ship Island. 

While the Sieur d'Iberville had the honor to be placed 
in command of the expedition, he was personally com- 
manding the frigate Le Badine, of thirty guns, M. Le 
Compte Surgere, was in command of the frigate Le Marin, 
also of thirty guns, while the frigate Le Francois, a fifty- 
gun ship, was commanded by the Marquis de Chateaumer- 
ant, who had been ordered to join the squadron of d'lber- 
ville at San Domingo and accompany it to Louisiana. 
Iberville had been granted a large and valuable conces- 
sion in the fertile soil of the newly discovered country 
before sailing from France, and leaving his ships riding at 
anchor in the roadstead of Ship Island, prepared to ascend 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 21 

the Mississippi in boats. He entered the river March 2, 
1699, and ascended as far as the mouth of Red River. De- 
scending he reached the mouth of Manchac (to be known 
henceforth as Iberville). Here he dispatched his brother 
Sauvolle down the Mississippi, to convey to the squadron 
the intelligence of what they had discovered, with instruc- 
tions to carefully sound the passes at the mouth of the 
river, while he determined to explore the Manchac. With 
considerable difficulty Iberville made his way through that 
stream until he emerged into the river Amite, thence into 
Lake Maurepas, thence through Pass Manchac into Lake 
Ponchartrain, and thence to the anchorage of his ships- 
Iberville had already given to the beautiful sheet of water, 
now known as Bay St. Louis, the name of his sovereign, 
and to the first, and the smaller of the two lakes through 
which he had passed, he gave the name of Maurepas, and 
to the larger one he gave the name of Pontchartrain, in 
honor of two ministers of his master, Louis the Great. 

In his official report, Iberville thus describes the first 
settlement ever made upon the soil of Mississippi by white 
men : 

" After having visited several places well adapted for 
settlements, I fixed on the Bay of Biloxi, four leagues 
north of the place where the ships are anchored. We 
made choice of this point on account of the sheltered bay, 
or roadstead, where small vessels can come and go safely 
at all times. 

" A place for a permanent settlement can be selected at 
leisure. I erected a wooden fort, with four bastions ; two 
are made of hewn timber, placed together, one foot and a 
half thick, and nine feet high ; the other two of double 
pallisades. It is mounted with fifty four pieces of cannon, 
and has a good outfit of amunition. I left M. de Sauvolle 
in command, De Bienville, King's Lieutenant ; Levasseur, 
Major ;De Bordenac, Chaplain; Care. Surgeon; two cap- 
tains, two pilots, four sailors, eighteen filibusters, thirteen 
Canadians, ten mechanics, six masons and thirty sub- 
officers and soldiers."" 

This fort, Iberville named in honor of Jean Phellyp- 
peaux, Count Maurepas, a Minister and Secretary of For- 



22 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

eign Affairs. Count Maurepas bore the same family name 
as the Count Pontchartrain. the famous Chancellor of the 
Empire under Louis the XIV. Here was the first fortifica- 
tion erected by the French on the soil of Mississippi. 
Here, too, was the seat of the Colonial Government, the 
seat of French power and sovereignty in the State, as rep- 
resented by Royal Governors and Vicegerents, through 
whom the King of France spoke to his subjects in this 
far away quarter of the world. 

Having thus disposed of his own and the King's affairs, 
d'Iberville returned to France, leaving his brothers, Sau- 
volle and Bienville, with a handful of followers, in the vast 
solitudes of the newly discovered Eldorado. What were 
the reflections of the brothers and their followers as they 
watched the fast receding ships, may be readily imagined, 
though it would be difficult to describe th^m. Near the 
close of the year 1699, d'Iberville cheered the hearts of his 
brothers and countrymen by returning to Biloxi with two 
frigates, bringing supplies and reinforcements, including 
sixty Canadians, who, though born in the frigid region of 
Canada, amid ice and snow, seem to have been preferred 
for service in the malarial jungles of the Mississippi. The 
long absence of Iberville had cast a settled gloom upon 
the little band of soldiers and colonists he had left behind 
him at the solitary station of Biloxi, and the joy occas- 
ioned by his return with additional reinforcements and a 
large supply of much needed provisions and military 
stores, may be readily imagined. Iberville also brought 
the welcome intelligence that the King of France had been 
graciously pleased to appoint his brother, Sauvolle, Gov- 
ernor of the Province of Louisiana, Bienville, Lieutenant- 
Governor, and Boisbriant, Commander of the Fort at Biloxi. 
with the rank of Major. Thus Antoine Lemoyne Sauvolle 
became the first Governor that ever exercised his functions 
over any portion of the territory comprised within the 
limits of the present State of Mississippi. Iberville, hav- 
ing determined to establish a fort on the lower Missis- 
sippi river, as well for defensive as for offensive operations, 
requested the friendly Indians to show him a point above 
all inundation. They accordingly conducted him to a high 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI, 23 

ridge, some eighteen leagues above the passes, where he at 
once determined to build a fort which would enable him to 
command the river, and thus keep off all English or Span- 
ish intruders. While engaged in this work, Iberville and 
his friends were most agreeably surprised by the arrival, 
in their midst, of the Chevalier Henri de Tonti, the devo- 
ted friend of La Salle, and his faithful companion during 
his exploration of the great river. That resolute soldier 
and indefatigable explorer had come from his distant post 
on the Illinois to welcome his friends under the command 
of Iberville. In February, 1700, Iberville, his brother 
Bienville, and the Chevalier de Tonti, ascended the river 
as far as the villages of the Natchez Indians, on the bluff 
where now stands the present populous and growing citj" 
of Natchez. They were delighted with the lovely country 
spread out before them, and Iberville at once determined 
to build a town and establish a garrison there. He drew a 
plat of the proposed town which he called "LaVille de 
Rosalie Aux Natchez." This name was bestowed upon 
the embryo town, as Gayarre tells us, in honor of the 
Countess Pontchartrain, the wife of the French Minister of 
that day. While Iberville and his companions were at 
the village of the Natchez Indians, they witnessed a scene 
of horror such as ihey never before beheld, which is graph- 
ically described by Gayarre in the following passage : 

" When the French were at Natchez they were struck 
with horror at' an occurrence, too clearly demonstrating 
the fierceness of that tribe, which was destined in after 
years to become so celebrated in the history of Louisiana. 
One of their temples having been set on fire by lightning, a 
hideous spectacle presented itself to the Europeans. The 
tumultuous rush of the Indians — the infernal howlings and 
lamentations of the men, women and children — the un- 
earthly vociferations of the priests, their fantastic dances 
and ceremonies around the burning edifice — the demoniac 
fury with which mothers rushed to the fatal spot, and with 
the piercing cries and gesticulations of maniacs, flung 
their new-born babes into the flames to pacify their irri- 
tated deity — the increasing anger of the heavens blacken- 
ing with the impending storm, the lurid flashes of the 



24 HISTOKY OF MISSIScilPPI. 

lightning, darling as it were in mutual enmity from the 
clashing clouds — the low, distant growling of the comirjg 
tempest — the long column of smoke and tire shooting up- 
ward from the funeral pyre and looking like one of the 
gigantic torches of pandemonium— the war of the elements, 
combined with the worst effects of the frenzied superstition 
of man — the suddenness and strangeness of the awful 
scene — all these circumstances produced such an impres- 
sion upon the French as to deprive them, for the moment, 
of the power of volition and action. Rooted to the ground 
ihey stood aghast with astonishment and indignation at 
the appalling sight. Was it a dream, a wild delirium of 
the mind? But no, the monstrous reality of the vision 
was but too apparent, and they threw themselves among 
the Indians, supplicating them to cease their horrible sac- 
rifice to their gods and joining threats to their supplica- 
tions. Owing to this intervention, and perhaps because a 
sufficient number of victims had been offered, the priest 
gave the signal of retreat, and the Indians slowly with- 
drew from the accursed spot. Such was the aspect under 
which the Natchez showed themselves for the first time to 
their visitors ; it was an ominous presage for the future." 

Claiborne tells us that the number of babies thus cast 
into the flames was not less than seventeen. 

Here de Tonti separated from his friends and resumed 
his solitary journey to his far away post on the Illinois 
river. He returned a few years later to Louisiana, where 
he spent the remainder of his days. 

After serving his sovereign with marked courage and un- 
faltering fidelity for many years, he died, and all that was 
mortal of the Chevalier Henri de Tonti was laid to rest 
in the soil of Mississippi. 

Iberville soon returned to his ships and sailed for France 
for additional assistance for the colony. Bienville was 
assigned to the command of the fort on the lower Missis- 
sippi, and Sauvolle had previously entered upon the dis- 
charge of his duties as Governor at Biloxi. Sauvolle, his 
soldiers and colonists, had suffered greatly in the winter 
of 1700-1, and judging from his report to the home govern- 
ment, the cold must have been excessive. In one of his 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 25 

dispatches lie informed his government that 'Svater when 
poured into tumblers to rinse them, freezes instantaneously, 
and before it could be used." The spring, summer and 
autumn of 1701 proved excessively unhealthy, and in ad- 
dition to this the gaunt hand of famine clasped the bony 
lingers of disease, for it is a most remarkable fact, that 
the early French colonists in Mississippi and Louisiana, 
vi^ere entirely dependent for food supplies brought from the 
mother country. Considering the long distance, the un- 
certainty of the winds and waves, the dangers that 
attended all sea voyages at that early period, it is no mar- 
vel that, relying on that distant and uncertain source of 
supply, while neglecting the generous and fertile soil at 
their feet, capable of producing all food plants in profuse 
luxuriance, they should have suffered at times for the neces- 
saries of life, and were frequently on the verge of starva- 
tion. 

In the summer of 1701 Governor Sauvolle died at Biloxi, 
presumably of yellow fever. Shortly after the death of 
the Governor, Iberville returned with two ships of the 
line and a brig laden with a supply of food for the soldiers 
and colonists. Bienville, as Lieutenant Governor, suc- 
ceeded his brother Sauvolle in the exercise of all the power 
and authority vested in him as Governor of the Province 
of Louisiana. In December, 1701, intelligence reached 
Bienville that two ships had arrived and anchored off 
Dauphine Island, bringing orders to him to retire from 
Fort Maurepas, at Biloxi, and remove to the Mobile river. 
Leaving Boisbriant in command of Fort Maurepas, Bien- 
ville proceeded to Mobile, where he at once built a fort 
on Dauphine Island, at the mouth of Dog river. This 
work was given the name of Fort St. Louis de la Mobile, 
and here were the official headquarters of the Province for 
nine years, until, by reason of frequent inundations of the 
Island, a removal was made necessary to the site of the 
present city of Mobile. 

Iberville hurried back to France. There were notes of 
war borne on every breeze, and to one of his heroic nature, 
these notes were always welcome. Born of a family of 
soldiers, men of heroic mould, he had seen his father and 



26 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

four brothers perish on the battle field. It is not strange, 
then, that he welcomed the rapture of battle with that 
stern joy which warriors feel. Before leaving his beloved 
colony, however, he gave some much needed advice to his 
government In one of his latest dispatches, he wrote as 
follows : 

" It is necessary to send here honest tillers of the earth, 
and not rogues and paupers, who come to Louisiana solely 
with the intention of making a fortune by all sorts of 
means, in order to speed back to Europe. Such men cannot 
be elements of prosperity to a colony." 

It was late in the year 1701, when Iberville sailed for 
France with the promise of returning as soon as it was 
practicable, to the Colony of Louisiana. His brother and 
friends looked long and anxiously for his arrival, but he 
was destined never again to gaze upon Louisiana, the child 
of his nurture and affection. He sailed from France in 
1706, in command of a formidable squadron for Mobile, 
intending to attack Charleston en route. He touched at 
San Domingo for the purpose of adding a thousand soldiers 
to his command, and while there was attacked with yellow 
fever and died July '.)th. Gayarre, referring to it, says : 
" 111 was the wind that carried to Louisiana the melancholy 
information of Iberville's death. It blasted the hearts of 
the poor colonists, and destroyed the hope they had 
of being speedily relieved. Their situation had become 
truly deplorable ; their numbers were rapidly diminishing ; 
the Indians were daily becoming more hostile, more bold 
in their demands for goods and merchandise, as a tribute 
they exacted for not breaking out in actual warfare." 

The death of Iberville was undeniably a great blow to 
the prosperity of the Colony, but it was a yet greater mis- 
fortune to his brother Bienville, the Governor, Difficulties 
had been gathering around his head in the past five years. 
The long distance from France, the broad Atlantic which 
flowed between him and his base of supplies, the feebleness 
of his garrison, the small number of his colonists, the vast 
array of hostile Indians, made the position of Bienville one 
of great danger and difficulty, which might well have 
blanched the cheek of the bravest and wisest. But the per- 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 27 

plexing difficulties of Bienville, trying as they were, did no*^ 
end here. He was surrounded by a vile cabal of ignorant, 
corrupt and rapacious individuals, some of whom enjoyed 
official position, and were thus enabled to attract around 
them men equally as corrupt and venal as themselves. 
To these wretched creatures the intelligence of the death 
or Iberville was most welcome. Without the great influ- 
ence of his heroic brother they deemed the fall of Bien- 
ville in the near future well-nigh assured, and they 
labored unremittingly to hasten the hour of his downfall- 
Meantime, he was struggling with manly constancy against 
his open enemies, the hostile Indian tribes, and the more 
insidious one of famine. A pitiable instance of the 
humiliation to which a brave man may be subjected, is 
thus related by Gayarre : 

" Bienville convened the chiefs of the Chickasaws and 
of the Choctaws in order to conciliate them by some tri- 
fling presents of which he could yet dispose, and to gain 
time by some fair promises as to what he would do for 
them under more favorable circumstances. With a view 
of making an imposing show, Bienville collected all the 
colonists that were within reach; but notwithstanding 
that display, a question propounded by one of the Indian 
chiefs gave him a humiliating proof of the slight estima- 
tion in which the savages held the French nation. Much 
to his annoyance he was asked if that part of his. people 
which remained at home was as numerous as that which 
had come to settle in Louisiana i Bienville, who spoke 
their language perfectly well, attempted by words and 
comparisons suited to their understanding, to impart to 
them a correct notion of the extent of the population of 
France. But the Indians looked incredulous, and one of 
them even said to Bienville, " if your countrymen are, as 
you affirm, as thick on their native soil as the leaves of 
our forests, how is it that thej^ do not send more of their 
warriors here to avenge the death of such of ihem as have 
fallen by our hands ? Not to do so, when having the power, 
would argue them to be of a very base spirit. And how is 
it that most of the tall and powerful men that came with 
you, being dead, are replaced only with boys, cripples. 



28 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

or women, that do you uo credit ? Surely the French 
would not so behave, if they could do otherwise, and my 
white brother tells a story that disparages his own tribe." 

The difficulties that had surrounded Bienville, for the 
past five years, difficulties without and within, were rap- 
idly culminating, and on the 13th of July, 1707, he was 
dismissed from office, and DeMuys appointed in his stead. 
This new Governor was empowered to investigate the ad- 
ministration of his predecessor, and if upon examination 
into his official acts and the accusations brought against 
him, he thought proper to do so, he was authorized to 
send Bienville to France as a prisoner. This last humilia- 
tion, however, was destined to be spared him, his suc- 
cessor, De Muys, having died at Havana, on the way to his 
post of duty, and thus Bienville was permitted to retain 
his position for a time longer. When De Muys was ap- 
pointed Governor in place of Bienville, La Salle, the Royal 
Commissary who had been the most active and indus- 
trious intriguer against Bienville, was highly delighted, of 
course, but his happiness was of brief duration, for the 
ship which brought intelligence of the new Governor's 
death, at Havana, brought in person the successor of La 
Salle, Diron d'Artaguette, as Royal Commissary. The 
disappointment of La Salle must have been intense at the 
sudden disarrangement of all his malevolent schemes, but 
his rage knew ao bounds when he ascertained that his 
own successor had reported to the home government 
that the administration of Bienville was entirely wise and 
honorable, and hence, that his own charges against Bien- 
ville were proven to be false and malicious. 

Though still clothed with all his original authority, 
Bienville was still not reposing on a bed of roses. The 
condition of the Colony of Louisiana, which descriptive 
term included all of the territory of the present State of Mis- 
sissippi, from the seashore to the mouth of the Yazoo 
river, was most wretched. In nine years, that is to say, 
from 1699, the date of Iberville's arrival, to and including 
the year 1708, " the population did not exceed," according 
to Gayarre, " two hundred and seventy-nine persons ! To 
this number must be added sixty Canadian vagabonds, who 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 29 

led a wandering and licentious life among the Indians. Its 
principal wealth consisted of fiftj^ cows, forty calves, four 
bulls, eight oxen, fourteen hundred hogs, and two thou- 
sand hens." 

There had recently been an addition to the population 
of the Colony, by the arrival of twenty young girls, sent 
out under the auspices of the Bishop of Quebec, for wives 
for the colonists. These girls soon created a vigorous sen- 
sation by a revolt against a portion of the food with 
which they were served. This revolt was humorously 
called " the petticoat insurrection," and was deemed of suf- 
ficient importance to be communicated to the home gov- 
ernment in an official dispatch. Governor Bienville 
thus refers to this " petticoat insurrection : " " The 
males in the Colony begin, through habit, to be reconciled 
to corn, as an article of nourishment, but the females, who 
are mostly Parisians, have for this kind of food a dogged 
aversion, which has not yet been subdued. Hence, the}' 
inveigh bitterly against his grace, the Bishop of Quebec, 
who, they say, has enticed them away from home under 
the pretext of sending them to enjoj^ the milk and honey 
of the land of promise." 

Indignant at being thus deceived, and determined thej' 
would never eat corn, these girls declared they " would 
force their way out of the colonv on the first opportu- 
nity." 

The colonists were too indolent to cultivate the soil, and 
preferred the precarious and uncertair supply of food 
from the mother country. Like the " wards of the nation " 
in this country, a century and a half later, they expected 
the government to supply all their wants, and this without 
an effort on their own part. Finding that the colonists 
would not work to raise sufficient food for themselves, and 
that the Indians were equallj^ averse to labor, Bienville 
coolly proposed to his governmert that he should be au- 
thorized ''to exchange Indians for negroes with the French 
West India Islands ! " His. proposition was couched in 
the following unique language : " We shall give tliree In- 
dians (that never belonged to him or his government) for 
itoo negroes. The Indians when in the Island will not be 



30 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

able to run away, the country being unknown to them, 
and the negroes will not dare to become fugitives in Louis- 
iana, because the Indians would kill them ! " Was ever 
an act of spoliation and outrage couched in more courtly 
phrase? It met with no favor, however, the government 
of France failing to authorize the exchanging of Indians 
for negroes, at the rate of three Indians for two Africans, 
and so the scheme fell through, possibly for the reason 
that it was esteemed cheaper to steal negroes from the 
coast of Africa, than to catch the wild and untamed red 
men of the forest to offer in exchange. 

Bienville seems to have entertained some queer notions 
of his power. In one of his dispatches to the home gov- 
ernment this passage occurs : " I have ordered several 
citizens of LaRochelle to be closely watched, because they 
wish to quit the country ! They have scraped up some- 
thing by keeping taverns, therefore it appears to me to be 
nothing but justice to force them to remain in the country 
on the substance of which they have fattened." 

In spite of all efforts to supply the colonists with food, 
famine was again threatened, and in January, 1709, the 
people were compelled to feed on acorns to avoid starva- 
tion, and the very next year, 1710, in consequence of the 
great scarcity of provisions. Bienville informed his gov- 
ernment " that he had scattered his men among the In- 
dians upon whom he had quartered them for food !" If 
anything more grotesque was ever performed by a civilized 
being it has not yet been heard of. The people of the col- 
ony, too indolent to cultivate the soil, and too idle to fish or 
hunt, were thus quartered on the red men ot the forest, 
who had tilled the earth and gathered the crops of corn, 
beans and other vegetables, and who had killed game and 
cured the flesh for future use, drawing their daily food 
from the streams that abounded with lish ! Why should 
these colonists be less industrious and less provident 
than the untutored Indian ? and why should they be bil- 
leted on a people who were represented to be their mortal 
foes? This last question, it is presumed, will be a difficult 
one to answer satisfactorily. 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 31 

This condition of affairs could not long exist, and the 
crisis soon came. The king of France, at last grown weary 
with the never-ending demands of the Louisiana colony, 
the ceasless drafts upon the treasury of the nation, deter- 
mined to put an end to these never-failing requisitions upon 
his royal exchequer at once, and as he fondly hoped for- 
ever. The mode adopted was a most novel one. Thus the 
great king, at a single blow, cut the gordian knot which 
for years had embarrassed him. By a simple dash of the 
pen he surrendered to the absolute control of Anthony Cro- 
zat, a rich and ambitious merchant, an empire greater in 
extent, and grander in its future than all of France, which 
Louis XIV ruled with despotic sway ; an empire destined 
to a wealth and power more dazzling than the great king 
ever dreamed of. Anthony Crozat was the son of a peas- 
ant, "born on the estate of one of the great patricians of 
France," says Gayarre ; "he was, when a boy, remarked 
for the acuteness of his intellect, and having the good for- 
tune of being the foster brother of the only son of his 
feudal lord, he was sent to school by his noble patron, 
received the rudiments of education, and at the age of 
fifteen was placed as a clerk in a commercial house. Then, 
by the protection of that nobleman, who never ceased to 
evince the liveliest interest in his fate, and particularly by 
the natural ascendency of his strong genius, he rose, in 
the course of twenty years, to be a partner ot his old 
employer, married his daughter, and shortly after this 
auspicious event, found himself, on the death of his fathf r- 
in-law, one of the richest merchants in Europe. He still 
continued to be favored by circumstances, and having had 
the good fortune of loaning large sums of money to the 
government in cases of emergency, he was rewarded for his 
services by his being ennobled, and created Marquis du 
Chatel." 

Gayarre tells the shameful story of the transfer of Louis- 
iana, with all its boundless possibilities, to Crozat, the 
rich merchant : " The colony continued in its lingering 
condition, gasping for breath in its cradle, until 1712, when 
on the 14th day of September, the king of France granted 
to Anthony Crozat the exclusive privilege for fifteen years, 



32 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

of trading in all that immense territory, which, with its un- 
defined limits, France claimed as her own under the name 
of Louisiana. Among other privileges, were those of send- 
ing, once a year, a ship to Africa for negroes, and of pos- 
sessing and working all the mines of precious metal to be 
discovered in Louisiana, provided that one-fourth of their 
proceeds should be reserved for the king. He also had 
the privilege of owning forever all the lands that he should 
improve by cultivation, all the buildings he should erect, 
and all the manufactures he might establish. His princi- 
pal obligation, in exchange for such advantages, was to 
send every year to Louisiana two ship's load of colonists, 
and after nine years to assume all the expenses of the 
administration of the colony, including those of the gar- 
rison and its officers ; it being understood that, in consid- 
eration of such a charge, he would have the privilege of 
nominating the officers to be appointed by the king. In 
the meantime, the annual sum of fifty thousand livres, 
($10,000,) was allowed to Crozat for the king's share of the 
expenses required by Louisiana. It was further pro- 
vided that the laws, ordinances, customs, and usages of 
the Provostship and Viscounty of Paris, should form the 
legislation of the colony. There was also to be a govern- 
ment council, similar to the one established in San Do- 
mingo and Martinique." 

" This charter of concessions virtually made Crozat the 
supreme lord and master of Louisiana. Thus Louisiana 
was dealt with as if it had been a royal farm, and leased 
by Louis XIV to the highest bidder. It is a mere business 
transaction, but which colors itself with the hue of romance, 
when it is remembered that Louisiana was the farm, Louis 
XIV the landlord, and that Anthony Crozat was the 
farmer." 

The condition of the country at the time Crozat was 
clothed with such extraordinary powers and privileges, is 
thus graphically described by Gayarre : " When Crozat 
obtained the royal charter granting him so many commer- 
cial privileges in Louisiana, the military forces which were 
in the colony, and which constituted its only protection, 
did not exceed two companies of infantry of fifty men each. 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 33 

There were also seventj^-five Canadians in the pay of the 
king, and they were used for every species of service. 
The balance of the population hardly came up to three 
hundred souls, and that population, small as it was, and 
almost imperceptible, happened to be scattered over a 
boundless territory, where they could not communicate 
together without interminable difficulties, frightful dangers, 
and without delays, which, in these our days of rapid loco- 
motion, can scarcely be sufficiently appreciated. As to the 
blacks, who now have risen to such importance in our social 
polity, they did not lutmher more than tioenty heads. It is 
probable that of this scanty population there were not 
tifty persons in the present limits of the State of Louisiana. 
The possession of the province of Louisiana, if possession 
it can be called, France had secured by the construction of 
five forts. They were located at Mobile, at Biloxi, Ship 
Island. Dauphine Island, and on the bank of the Missis- 
sippi. These fortifications were of a very humble nature, 
and their materials were chiefly composed of stakes, logs 
and clay. They sufficed, however, to intimidate the In 
dians. Such were the paltry results, after fifteen years, of 
the attempt made by a powerful government to colonize 
Louisiana ; and now, one single man, a private individual, 
was daring enough to grapple and struggle with an under- 
taking, which so far had proved abortive in the hands of 
the great Louis XIV." 

Meantime, pending the negotiations for the Crozat con- 
cessions, troubles were constantly accumulating around 
the devoted head of Governor Bienville. The reader will 
remember his dismissal in 1707, when De Muys was ap- 
pointed to succeed him. It will also be remembered that 
De Muys died at Havana while en route to Louisiana, and 
thus Bienville remained at the head of the Louisiana 
coloiiy during the intervening five years. It must also be 
remembered that his enemies, chief among whom was 
La Salle, the displaced Royal Commissary of the colony, 
and the Curate de la Yente, were not idle in all those 
years. On the contrary, these conspirators against the 
good name of the Governor, were particularly active in 
circulating the vilest slanders against him. Only once he 



34 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

failed to maintain his usual serenity. Once only, when 
stung to frenzy, did he deign to notice the vile calumnies 
circulated by this vicious and corrupt cabal, and then he 
answered them in tones of virtuous indignation. He 
demonstrated to them, to use the language of Daniel Web- 
ster, uttered more than a century later, " that there were 
blows to be received as well as to be given." In answer 
to the calumnies of the Curate de la Vente, in a blaze of 
indignation, he said: "He has tried to stir up everybody 
against me, and who, in the meantime, did not blush to 
keep a shop where his mode of trafficking showed that he 
was a shrewd compound of the Arab and the Jew." 

On the 17th of May, 1713, the arrival of a ship from 
France brought the intelligence of the concession to An- 
thony Crozat ; the appointment of Lamothe Cadillac, as 
Governor, Duclos as Commissary, in the place of d'Arta- 
guette, who had returned to France, Lebas as Comptroller, 
Dirigoin and La Loire des Ursins, as the agents of Crozat 
in Louisiana. The one bitter drop in the cup of joy of 
La Salle, and the Curate de la Vente, was the fact that 
Bienville was to be retained in the comparatively unim- 
portant position of Lieutenant-Governor of the colony, 

Lamothe Cadillac was born on the Garonne, in the prov- 
ince of Gascony, descended from an ancient family whose 
pr'fetensions were in an inverse ratio to their wealth, or to the 
extent of their constantly narrowing domains. The new 
Governor was a veritable gascon, weak, vain, and capri- 
cious. In appearance he was an exaggerated likeness of 
'' the knight of the rueful countenance," immortalized by 
the genius of Cervantes. That anything but disastrous fail- 
ure should accompany his rule was a forgone conclusion, 
and that conclusion was converted into a sad reality. 

The first and principal instruction given by Crozat to 
Cadillac, was that he should diligently look after mines^ 
and endeavor to find an opening for the introduction of his 
goods and merchandise into the Spanish colonies in Mexico, 
either with the consent of the authorities, or without it, "by 
smuggling," is the pointed way in which Gayarre puts it. 

The great, the fundamental error which attended all the 
efforts of the French to colonize Louisiana, may be traced 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 35 

to the delusive idea that the precious metals were to be 
found on the shores of the great river in as profuse abund- 
ance as rewarded Cortez in Mexico, and Pizarro in Peru, 
the land of the Incas. Blind to the fact that the soil be 
neath their feet contained a mine of exhaustless wealth, 
ready to respond to the touch of man in boundless profu- 
sion, they vainly sought for gold, silver and precious 
stones, while they suffered the pangs of hunger utterly 
unmindful of the treasures under their feet. 

When Governor Cadillac landed on Dauphine Island, 
we can well imagine his disgust while penning the follow- 
ing lines to the Minister of the Marine. He writes : " The 
wealth of Dauphine Island consists of a score of fig trees, 
three wild pear trees, and three apple trees of the same 
nature, a dwarfish plum tree, three feet high, with seven 
bad looking plums, thirty plants of vine, with nine 
branches of half rotten and half dried-up grapes, forty 
stands of French melons and some pumpkins. This is the 
terrestrial paradise of which we had heard so much. 
Nothing but fables and lies.'' 

Cadillac, remembering his instructions, commenced to 
explore the country in the hope of. finding mines of gold 
and silver which should rival the richest yet discovered. 
Finding neither gold, silver or precious stones, his disgust 
with the country over which he was sent to rule, naturally 
deepened, and in his next dispatch he writes : " This is a 
very wretched country, good for nothing, and incapable of 
producing either tobacco, Avheat or vegetables, even as 
high as Natchez !" 

January, 1714, arrived, and again Governor Cadillac 
sent a dispatch to the home government, in which he 
writes : 

" The inhabitants are no better than the country ! They 
are the very scum and refuse of Canada, ruffians who have 
thus far cheated the gibbet of its dues ! Vagabonds who 
are without subordination to the laws, without any respect 
to religion or for the government, graceless profligates who 
are so steeped in vice that they prefer the Indian females 
to French women ! How can I find a remedy for such 



36 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

evils, when his Majesty instructs me to behave with ex- 
ireme lenity, and in such a manner as not to provoke com- 
plaints ! Bat what shall I say of the troops who are with- 
out discipline, and scattered among the Indians, at whose 
expense tJiey subsist ! The Colony is not worth a straw for 
the moment, but I shall endeavor to make something of it, 
if Grod grants me health." 

Later on this marvel of a Governor wrote the Ministry 
the following sentence of a dispatch: ^''Belieiae me this 
■"'hole Continent is not loorthhamng, and cur colonists are 
so dissatisfied that they are all disposed to run away." 

Cadillac had accepted the position of G-overnor of Louis- 
iana, dreaming that 'he should acquire vast wealth by 
the discovery of mines <>f gold, silver and precious 
stones, fabulous in their riches, and anything that inter- 
fered with this, the dearest desire of his heart, filled him 
with unutterable disgust. To think of devoting his sub- 
lime intellect and superhuman energies to the frivolous 
pursuits of agriculture, or commerce, to think of devoting 
himself to the promotion and growth of a healthy, self- 
supporting Colony, to opening up the country, to the mak- 
ing of roads, to the building of avenues of intercourse 
and trade, was an occupation that he looked down upon 
with the loftiest contempt and scorn. On receiving orders 
to assist the agents of Crozat in establishing trading posts 
on the Wabash and Illinois rivers, he lost his temper, and 
in a fit of frantic indignation wrote the Ministry the fol- 
lowing insolent dispatch : "I have seen Crozat's instruc- 
tions to his agents. I thought they issued from a lunatic 
asylum, and there appeared to me to be no more sense in 
them than in the Apocalypse. What ! is it expected that 
for any commercial or profitable purposes, boats will ever 
be able to run up the Mississippi, into the Wabash, the 
Missouri or the Red river ? One might as well try to bite 
a slice of of the 7noon. Not only are these rivers as rapid 
as the Rhone, but in their crooked course they imitate to 
perfection a snake's undulations. Hence, for instance, on 
every turn of the Mississippi, it would be necessary to 
wait for a change of wind, if wind could be had, because 
this river is so lined up with thick woods, that very little 
wind has access to its bed." 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 37 

In the disposition of the public land, the Governor 
thought it entirely beneath his dignity to take the slightest 
interest. In writing the Ministry he said : "Give the 
colonists as much land as they please. Why stint the 
measure ? The lands are so bad that there is no necessity 
to care for the number of acres. A copious distribution 
of them would be cheap liberality." 

The dream of Cadillac was to grow suddenly wealthy 
by the discovery of mines of gold and silver, and all his 
energies had been devoted to that single purpose. He 
had sent out numerous exploring parties, but the precious 
metals had thus far eluded his persistent search. He had 
spent large sums in his fruitless search for gold mines, but 
the fever still burned in his heart and brain. To his great 
disgust he found, that in consequence of his lack of funds 
he could no longer continue his vain search for mines. In 
this dilemma he sought Duclos, the Royal Commissary, for 
more money to continue his researches. That financial 
functionary informed the Governor that his treasury was 
empty, and therefore it was impossible for him to comply 
with his demands. Mothing daunted, Cadillac uttered the 
word "borrow." "I cannot," responded Buclos. "Well, 
then," said the irate official, "what is the use of your 
being a financier, if you cannot raise money by borrow- 
ing, and what is the use of my being a Governor, if I have 
no funds to carry on the purposes of my government ?" 

But the cup of his humiliation was not yet full. Ir 
mantled to the brim, however, when Duclos demanded of 
him a full and complete account of all the monies placed 
in his hands, and how, and for what purpose they had 
been expended. The Royal Commissary also insisted on 
having a full account of all the goods, merchandise and 
trinkets which had been delivered to him for distribution 
among the Indians. The astonishment and indignation of 
the Governor knew no bounds, and he immediately penned 
a dispatch to the ministry informing them of the enormity 
of this offence against his dignity. Troubles of every sort 
were accumulating around Cadillac. His weakness, his 
inordinate vanity, his pride and his lust of wealth, had 
rendered him ridiculous in the eyes of the officers, the 



38 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

soldiers and the colonists. He had absolutely hated Bien- 
ville, of whom he always spoke sneeringly as a Canadian, 
and therefore not comparable with a native of France. 
The Grovernor had an only daughter who had accompanied 
him to the wilds of Louisiana. This daughter was a plain 
young lady, but her eyes had looked on Bienville with 
favor. She had learned to love the young soldier ere that 
love had been sought. When her father became aware of 
the condition of his daughter's heart he was in a white 
heat of indignation. He bemoaned the terrible misfortune 
of a daughter of the house of Cadillac, wedding a Cana- 
dian adventurer, but reflection taught him that by Ms 
assistance Bienville yet might rise superior to having been 
born in Canada, and so he concluded to send for him and 
thus form an alliance offensive and defensive for life. Bien- 
ville was sent for, and having been received with great 
civility, was diplomatically informed of the happiness in 
store for him. The fortunate recipient of this unexpected 
happiness bowed to the ground in recognition of the res- 
plendent honor. He manifested the utmost gratitude for 
having been thought worthy of the heart and hand of Made- 
moiselle Cadillac, was much honored by the suggestion so 
far beyond his humble aspirations, but, with much regret, 
assured the Governor that he was under an eternal vow of 
celibacy. But for that vow, which nothing could induce 
him to violate, he would be the happiest of all human 
beings with his incomparable daughter. This was the last 
straw upon the back of the camel, the last drop in the 
brimming cup of his humiliation. To think that a Cadillac 
should be refused by a Canadian was too much, and that 
proud blood rebelled against this new indignity, and sought 
for means of revenge. The search was brief. Bienville was 
again sent for. He was met with frowning brows and in- 
formed that he would start immediately for the villages of 
the Natchez Indians. The Governor said to him : " Sir, I 
have received secret information that four Canadians on 
their way to Illinois have been massacred by the Natchez. 
You must punish the murderers, and build a fort on the 
territory of that perfidious nation to keep it in check. 
Take Ricliebourg's company of thirty-four men, fifteen 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 39 

sailors to man j^our boats, and proceed to execute my 
commands." "What!" responded Bienville, "do you 
really intend to send me with thirty-four men to encoun- 
ter a hostile tribe that numbers eight hundred warriors V 
To this question Cadillac made answer: "A truce to your 
observations — to hear must be to obey. I cannot dispose 
of a greater force. I have myself good ground to expect 
being attacked by the neighboring nations, who, as I am 
informed, have entered into a conspiracy against us. Yet 
the ofl'ence committed by the Natchez must be instantly 
requited, or they would be emboldened into the perpetra- 
tion of worse outrages. Go, then, with such means as I 
can give ; in case of success, your merit will be greater, but 
if you should meet with any reverse you will be at no loss 
for an excuse, and all the responsibility shall be mine." 

Bienville, satisfied that his ruin had been deliberately 
resolved upon, deemed it idle to waste further words and 
quietly withdrew to consult with Captain Richebourg who 
was to accompany him on his perilous expedition. Riche- 
bourg was a veteran soldier, of keen intelligence, marked 
courage and unquestioned fidelity. 

In a few days thereafter, Bienville, with Captain Riche- 
bourg and his thirty-four soldiers and fifteen sailors, took 
their departure for the villages of the Natchez Indians, and 
upon the morning of the 24th of April, 1716, Janded on 
Tunica Island, about eighteen leagues below the Natchez 
villages. Here Bienville immediately proceeded to con- 
struct defensive works, inside of which he erected three 
log houses; "one he intended for a store house for his provis- 
ions and ammunition, the second as a guard-house, and the 
third for a prison." Having thus concluded arrangements 
for the safety of his command, Bienville dispatched a 
Tunica Indian to the Natchez to inform them that "he was 
coming to establish a factory among them, to trade in furs 
and to supply them, in exchange, with all the European 
merchandise they might want." With the customary cun- 
ning of the red men, they debated the question pro and con, 
but finally concluded to visit Bienville at his temporary 
Island home. On the 27th, three Indians arrived at Tunica 
Island and offered him the calumet, as an evidence of their 



40 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

peaceful purpose. Bienville, however, haughtily refused to 
smoke, but aflFected to consider himself slighted because 
the Chief himself had not come to offer the homage which 
was his due. He enlarged upon the great benetit his 
coming would be to the tribe, but as they appeared totally 
insensible to the advantages his factory would confer, he 
intimated broadly that he would locate his factory among 
the Tunicas, who had always been the friends of the 
French. "After this speech'' says Gayarre, ""Bienville 
ordered the three envoys to be well feasted and treated 
with kindness. The next day they returned to their villa- 
ges with a Frenchman whose mission was to address a 
formal invitation to the Natchez Chiefs to a conference on 
Tunica Island." Again there was a long debate as to 
whether this invitation should be accepted, but the intima- 
tion from Bienville, that he would transfer his factory to 
the village of the Tunica Indians turned the scale, "and 
in an evil hour," says Gayerre, "for the Indian Chiefs, 
their visit to Bienville's camp was resolved upon." The 
" Great Sun," two of his brothers, the " Stung Serpent,'' 
and " The Little Sun," attended by a large retinue, in 
great state reached Tunica Island on the 8th day of May. 
Bienville had given orders that half of his command, 
which had been materially strengthened by the arrival 
of twenty-two Frenchmen and Canadians, inured to war 
and to hardships, from the Illinois country, should be 
fully armed and conceal themselves in the guard-house, 
while the other half were to appear unarmed and obse- 
quious in their attention to their visitors. " Eight of the 
principal chiefs were admitted to his tent, while the re- 
mainder were kept outside until his pleasure could be 
made known." Bienville at once charged the Indians with 
the murder of the four Frenchmen, and refused to smoke 
the calumec until they had cleared themselves of the crime 
or surrendered their murderers. The Indians stood aghast 
at the turn affairs had suddenly taken and stood silent 
and chapfallen, and while in this condition the voice of 
Bienville was heard to utter the order, "let them be carried 
to the prison prepared for them, and let them be secured 
with chains, stocks and fetters !" 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 41 

Bienville, while pretending to exculpate the great chiefs 
who were then his guests and prisoners, from any knowl- 
edge of or participation in the murder of the four French- 
men, demanded " the heads of the murderers, and of the 
chiefs who ordered or sanctioned the deed." " I will not 
be satisfied," he said, " with their scalps, — I wish for the 
very heads, in order that I may be sure that deceit has 
not been practiced. This whole night I give you for con- 
sultation on the best mode of affording me satisfaction. 
If you refuse, woe to your tribe! " 

After listening to this f/peech the Indians were remanded 
to prison for the night. Early the next morning they re- 
quested to be shown to the tent of the great white Chief, 
and to speak to him. Being conducted to his presence, the 
chief first in rank and importance, addressed him thus : 
" The voice of the (ireat Spirit has made itself heard 
within us last night. We have listened to his dictate, and 
we come to give our white brother whatever satisfaction 
he desires. But we wish him to observe that we, the great 
chiefs, being all prisoners, there is no man left behind who 
has the power to accomplish the mission of bringing 
the heads thou demandest. Let, therefore, the Stung Ser- 
pent be liberated, and thy will shall be done." 

This proposition Bienville declined, for several reasons, 
but instead he suggested that " Little Sun " should be lib- 
erated and return to his tribe. After an absence of five 
days the " Little Sun " returned with three heads, but 
Bienville soon detected the ruse that had been attempted. 
One was the head of the brother of one of the chiefs who 
ordered the murder, and this he flung indignantly at the 
feet of the great chiefs, declaring sternly, '' This substi- 
tution cannot be accepted." The Chief of the ''White 
Clay," who had connived at the murder of the French- 
men, had taken flight, and so, with the Indian idea of jus- 
tice, they had chopped off the head of his brother ! The 
'• Great Sun," the " Stung Serpent " and the " Little Sun," 
who had thus far remained silent, now came forward and 
made full confession. They asseverated most solemnly 
that they possessed no previous knowledge of the pre- 
meditated slaughter of the four Frenchmen, but they de- 



42 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

clared that "four of the murderers were among Bienville's 
prisoners," that two of them were ordinary warriors, and 
two chiefs ; " one of them was called the Chief of the 
Beard ;" the other was named Alahoilechia, the Chief of 
the Walnut Village. They affirmed that these were the 
only guilty ones, with the exception of Oyelape, the Chief 
of the " White Clay," who was in hiding. 

By an adroit mingling of hauteur, dissimulation, bully- 
ing and treachery, Bienville succeeded in all his plans. 
The two chiefs and the two warriors who were in his prison 
were put to death in the presence of a large number of 
chiefs and warriors. " Now, then," said Bienville, " let us 
bury the hatchet of war ! " " Hear, then, on what condi- 
tions I release you and grant you peace. You will swear 
to put to death, as soon as possible, Oyelape, the Chief of 
the White Clay, and you will bring his head to the French 
officer whom I shall station among you. You will restore 
every object that you ever have taken from the French ! For 
what has been lost or wasted, you will force your people 
to pay the equivalent in furs and provisions. You will 
oblige them to cut two thousand five hundred stalks of 
acacia-wood, thirteen feet long by a diameter of ten 
inches, and to convey the whole to the bank of the Missis- 
sippi, at such a spot as it will please the French to erect a 
fort ; and furthermore, you will bind yourselves to furnish 
us, as a covering for our buildings, with the bark of three 
thousand trees. This is to be executed before the first day 
of July ; and above all, y ou will also swear, never, under 
any pretext or color whatever, to entertain the slightest 
commercial or friendly relations with the British, whom 
you know to be the eternal enemies of the French ! " 

The Indians complied in good faith with all the stipula- 
tions they had entered into in regard to the material of the 
fort to be built b}^ Bienville, and on the 3d day of August, 
1716, Fort Rosalie, on the site of the present city of 
Natchez, was completed and was ready for occupation. 
The 25th of the same month found Bienville and his little 
command safely quartered in the strong fortification that 
the Indians themselves had helped him to build, and on 
the 28th of August, Bienville left Major Pailloux in com- 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 4ii 

mand of the new fort and departed for Mobile, where he 
arrived on the 4th day of October, having successfully ac- 
complished a most difficult and perilous mission, a mis- 
sion he believed that was purposely planned to lead to his 
destruction, and his gratification was of course deep and 
lasting. His arrival in Mobile was marked by another 
highly gratifying incident, the receipt of a letter from the 
Minister of the Marine Department, instructing him to 
resume the government of the colony in the absence of 
L'Epinay, appointed to succeed Cadillac. On the 22d of 
June, 1716, Cadillac wrote a dispatch to his government in 
which all his pent-up discontent found free vent: "De- 
cidedly this colony is a monster without head or tail, and 
its government is a shapeless absurdity. The cause of it 
is that the fictions of fabulists have been believed in pref- 
erence to the veracity of my declarations. Has it not 
been asserted that there are mines in Arkansas and else - 
where ? It is a deliberate error. Has not a certain set of 
novel writers published that this country is a paradise, 
when its beauty or its utility is a mere phantom of the 
brain. I protest that, having visited and examined the 
whole of it with care, I never saw anything so worthless. 
I know how to govern as well as anybody, but poverty and 
impotence are two ugly scars on the face of a governor- 
What can I do with a force of forty soldiers, out of whom 
five or six are disabled? A pretty army that is, and well 
calculated to make me respected by the inhabitants or by 
the Indians. As a climax to my vexation, they are badly 
fed, badly paid, badly clothed, and without discipline. As 
to the officers, they are not much better. Verily, I do not 
believe that there is in the whole universe such another 
government." This was only a sample of his dispatches 
to the home government. His vanity and his prejudices 
gave color to everything he looked at, and it was no won- 
der that a series of such dispatches should have finally 
disgusted the government, and aroused the contempt of 
Anthony Crozat, into whose lap the fortunes of Louisiana 
had been recklessly thrown. In a letter from Crozat the 
old merchant plainly told Cadillac '' that all the evils of 
which he complained originated from his own bad admin- 



44 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

istration." At the foot of this letter the Minister of the 
Marine had written these words : " The Governor, Lamothe 
Cadillac, and the Commissary, Duclos, whose dispositions 
and humors are incompatible, and whose intellects are not 
equal to the functions with which his Majesty has entrusted 
them, are dismissed from office." To attempt to depict the 
impotent rage of Cadillac, at this last cruel blow, or to 
measure the flow of bitter imprecations that fell from his 
lips and were distributed with regal profusion, were to at- 
tempt what the judges of the courts sometimes call " a 
vain thing," and it will not be attempted. It is only nec- 
essary to add that Governor Cadillac fled from the Colony 
in wrath, heaping maledictions upon it, declaring it doomed 
to all sorts of calamities, very much as Governor Adel- 
bert Ames abandoned the State of Mississippi he had dis- 
honored, in the year of our Lord 1876. 

The wretchedly miserable condition of the Louisiana 
Colony on the arrival of L'Epinay, the new Governor, is 
thus graphically described by Gayarre : 

" On the 9th of March, 1717, three ships belonging to 
Crozat arrived with three companies of infantry and fifty 
colonists, with De L'Epinay, the new Governor, and Hu- 
bert, the King's Commissary. L'Epinay brought to Bien- 
ville the decoration of the Cross of St. Louis, and a royal 
patent, conceding to him, by mean tenure in soccage, Horn 
Island, on the coast of the present State of Alabama^ 
Bienville had demanded in vain that it be erected in his 
favor into a noble fief. 

" Hardly had L'Epinay landed, when he disagreed with 
Bienville, and the Colony was again distracted with two 
factions, with L'Epinay on one side and Bienville on the 
other. There was not at that time in Louisiana more than 
seven hundred souls, including the military ; and thus far 
the efforts of Crozat to increase the population had proved 
miserably abortive. In vain had his agents resorted to 
every means in their power to trade with the Spanish prov- 
inces, either by land or by sea, either legally or illegally ; 
several millions worth of merchandise which he had sent 
to Louisiana, with the hope of their finding their way to 
Mexico, had been lost for want of a market. In vain also 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 45 

had been expensive researches for mines and pearl fisher- 
ies. As to the trading in furs with tlie Indians, it hardly 
repaid the cost of keeping factories among them. Thus 
all the schemes of Crozat had failed. The miserable Eu- 
ropean population, scattered over Louisiana, was opposed 
to his monopoly, and contributed, as much as they could, 
to defeat his plans. As for the officers, they were too much 
engrossed by their own interests and too intent upon 
their daily quarrels, to mind anything else. There was but 
one thing, which to the despairing Crozat. seemed destined 
to thrive in Louisiana. That was the spirit of discord ! '' 

In the beginning of the month of August, 1717, Crozat, 
iinding that under the new Governor, L'Epinay, things 
were likely to move as lamely as before, addressed to 
the king a petition, in which he informed his Majesty that 
his strength was not equal to the enterprise he had under- 
taken, and that he felt himself rapidly sinking under the 
weight which rested on his shoulders, and from which he 
begged his Majesty to relieve him. On the 13th of the 
same month, the Prince of Bourbon and Marshal D'Estrees, 
accepted, in the name of the King, Crozat's proposition to 
give up the charter which he had obtained in the preced- 
ing reign." 

Thus perished as brilliant a dream of wealth and power 
as ever dazzled the brain of man. Crozat had struggled 
bravely, but fate, destiny, and what Byron calls "that un- 
spiritual god, circumstance," had combined against him. 
Coupled with his love of wealth and power, for which he 
had vainly striven, was the noblest emotion that ever 
stirred the human heart, the love of a father for his 
idolized daughter. Crozat saw that beloved child fading 
hourly before his gaze, and when the last spark of life had 
lied, he folded her hands upon her pulseless breast, im- 
pressed a farewell kiss upon brow and lips, followed her 
to the tomb, and when the last sad rites were performed, 
the heart of the father gave way, and he fell a lifeless 
norse upon the fresh-made grave of his beloved daughter. 

The French Governors of the Province of Mississippi, 
during the period embraced from the year 1699 to the year 
1717, were: first. Sauvolle ; secord, Bienville; rhird, 
Lamothe Cadillac ; fourth, Be L'Epinay. 



CHAPTER III. 



MISSISSIPPI AS A FRENCH PROVINCE, 
FROM 1717 TO 1730. 

THE vast country then known as Louisiana was still 
destined to be the toy of chance, the plaything of 
any adventurous hand that chose to grasp it. Louis the 
XIV died in 1715, and Crozat surrendered his charter 
in 1717. The Duke of Orleans was then at the head of 
affairs in France, as Regent, during the minority of Louis 
XV. And here commenced the boldest, most audacious, 
and yet the most attractive scheme the wit of man ever 
devised for swindling the public. 

John Law, a native of Edinburg, Scotland, born in 
1671, a man of fine education, versatile ability, boundless 
ambition and utterly unscrupulous as to the means of at- 
taining a desired end, was destined to become a most con- 
spicuous figure in the world of commerce and finance. 
Born to a good fortune, his fondness for gaming, for the 
race-course, and his many amiours^ soon left him a bank- 
rupt. His intrigue with a married woman involved him in 
a duel with a man named Wilson, whom he killed. Law was 
arrested, indicted, tried, convicted and sentenced to be 
hanged. His good fortune did not desert him in his extrem- 
ity, however, for the king graciously commuted the death 
sentence to imprisonment. His lucky star was again in the 
ascendant. He succeeded in escaping from prison and 
fled to the continent, where for a number of years he was 
a well-known personage to various officials of more than 
one continental capital. Having wandered over Europe 
for a number of years, and considering that he had noth- 
ing further to fear from imprisonment at home, he returned 
to Edinburg in the year 1700, where he soon offered, for 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 47 

the consideration of the public, "Proposals and reasons 
for establishing a Council of Trade." 

This having been coldly received, he, in 1705, offered to 
the Scottish Parliament "a plan for removing the difficulties 
under which the kingdom had then been suffering from the 
scarcity of money, and from the stoppage of payments by 
the banks," and in illustration of his views on the subject, 
he gave publicity to another work, entitled, "Money and 
Trade considered, with a proposal for supplying the nation 
with money." His cool-headed countrymen, however, 
seemed incapable of appreciating the financial schemes of 
Law, and he once more betook himself to the continent as 
a more congenial theatre of financial operations. At sev- 
eral capitals he attracted an unenviable notoriety by his 
unvarying and unprecedented luck in gaming. At Paris 
he is said to have introduced the fascinating game ol faro, 
and his success at the game was such that D'Argenson, 
the Minister of Police, ordered him to quit the kingdom, 
with the remark, "That Scot is too expert at the game 
which he has introduced." In Genoa and in Venice his 
success at gaming followed him, and the facility with 
which he drew in large sums of money in his gambling 
operations there, induced the magistrates of those cities, 
in the interest of their own people, to banish the brilliant 
gambler from their domains. But the hour of his triumph 
was at hand. Gambler, libertine and roue as he Was, he 
was soon to flash upon the world as the greatest financier 
of the age. He reached Paris at an opportune hour. The 
frightful difficulties bequeathed to the French people by 
the long, vainglorious and war-wasting reign of Louis 
the XIV, constituted a legacy of financial ruin. The pub- 
lic credit was 7^^7, the public debt was immense, and was 
constantly increasing. The taxation was enormous, and 
scarcely adequate to the payment of the annually accruing 
interest, to say nothing of the principal. Trade was an- 
nihilated, foreign commerce had perished. Industry was 
paralyzed. Stagnation was prevalent all over the land. 
Want and penury sat grinning at every fireside. All 
manufacturing enterprises were palsied. Merchants, me- 
chanics and farmers were suddenly converted into mendi- 



48 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

cants. The condition of affairs had become so desperate 
that a proposition was seriously made that the Council of 
State should promulgate an act of national bankruptcy, 
and thus obliterate forever the public debt. This, how- 
ever, was rejected, though a measure hardly less culpable 
was adopted. By a visa, or examination of the public 
liabilities by a committee, with full power of quashing 
claims, the debt was reduced nearly fifty per cent. The 
coin of the realm in circulation was called in, and re-issued 
at the rate of 120 for 100 and a chamber of justice was 
established to punish speculators, to whom all the difficul- 
ties of the public were ascribed. These measures were the 
mere nostrums of the financial quacks of the day, and 
their failure to relieve the people was so apparent that a 
new panacea appeared in the shape of hillets d'etat, or 
State bonds, which were issued as part security for the 
reduced debt. These bonds depreciated at once 75 per cen- 
tum below their nominal or face value. The wants of the 
Regent for money continued unabated. His demands for 
funds were incessant, his profligate pleasures were not to 
be curbed or restrained by want of money to purchase 
them, and at this propitious hour, John Law, the man 
whom the minister of police had driven from Paris years 
before, appeared again in the beautiful city as the saviour 
of the people and the public credit. The Regent, the Duke 
of Orleans, welcomed the new financial deliverer, and he 
soon unfolded a grand scheme to the needy and sorely per- 
plexed Regent. 

Francis Watt, M. A., thus describes, in the Encylopedia 
Brittanica, the system of kite-flying finance inaugurated 
by John Law in the French capital in the first quarter of 
the eighteenth century : 

" A royal bank was to be founded. It was to manage 
the trade and currency of the kingdom, to collect the taxes 
and/ree the country from debt. The council of finance, 
then under the Duke of Noailles, opposed the plan, but 
the Regent allowed Law to go on with part of it in a tenta- 
tive way. By an edict of the 2d of May. 1716, a private 
institution called La Banque Generate, and managed by 
Law, was founded. The capital was six million livres, 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 49 

divided into twelve hundred shares of five thousand livres, 
payable in four installments. One-fourth in cash, three- 
fourtlis in Mllets d'etat. It was to perform the ordinary 
functions of a bank, and had power to issue notes payable 
at sight in the weight and value of the money mentioned 
at the day of issue. The bank was a great and immediate 
success. By providing for the absorption of part of the 
State paper, it raised to some extent the credit of the gov- 
ernment. The notes were a most desirable medium of ex- 
change, for they had the element of fixity of value, which 
was, owing to the arbitrary mint decrees of the govern- 
ment, wanting in the coin of the realm. They were also 
found the most convenient instruments of remitance be- 
tween the Capital and the Provinces, and they thus de- 
veloped and increased the industries of the latter. The 
rate of interest, previously enormous and uncertain, fell 
first to six and then to four per cent.; ani when another 
decree, dated April 10th, 1717, ordered collectors of taxes 
to receive notes as payment, and to change them for coin 
at request, the bank so rose in favor that it had soon a 
note issue of sixty million livres. Law now gained the 
full confidence of the Regent, and was allowed to proceed 
with the development of the "system." The trade of the 
large and fertile region in North America, about the Mis- 
sissippi, had been granted to a speculator named Crozat. 
He found the undertaking too large and was glad to give 
it up. By a decree of August, 1717, Law was allowed to 
establish the Compagnie des Indes Occldentales, and to 
endow it with privileges practically amounting to sov- 
reignty over the most fertile region of North America. 
The capital was one hundred millions, divided into two 
hundred thousand shares of five thousand livres each. 
The payments were to be one-fourth in coin, and three - 
fourths in billets d^etat. On these last the government 
was to pay three million livres interest yearly to the com- 
pan3^ As the State paper was depreciated the shares fell 
much below par. The rapid rise of Law had made him 
many enemies, and the}' took advantage of this to attack 
his system. D'Argenson, the former Minister of Police, 
(who had driven him from France some years before), and 
4 



50 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

now in succession to De Noailles, liead of the Council of 
Finance, with the brothers Paris of Grenoble, famous tax 
farmers of the day, formed what was called the "anti-sys- 
tem." The farming of the taxes was let to them, under an 
assumed name, for forty-eight and a half million livres 
yearl}^. A company was formed the exact counterpart of 
the Mississippi Company. The capital was the same, 
divided in the same manner, but the payments were to be 
entirely in money. The returns from the public revenue 
were sure, those from the Mississippi scheme were not. 
Hence the shares of the latter were for some time out of 
favor. Law proceeded unmoved with his plans . On the 
4th of December, 1718, the bank became a government in- 
stitution under the name of '-La Banque Royaley Law 
was director, and the king guaranteed the notes. The 
shareholders were repaid ia coin, and, to widen the influ- 
ence of the new institution, the transportation of money 
between towns where it had branches was forbidden. 
The paper issue now reached one hundred and ten millions. 
Law had such confidence in the success of his plans that 
he agreed to take over shares in the Mississippi Company 
at par at a near date." This, however, was the mere bluff 
of a desperate gambler, for the seeds of decay had been 
sown, and evidences were multiplying that the tawdry 
financial castle which John Law had reared, was tottering 
to its fall. In 1719, he was at the summit of wealth, power 
and dignity. Nobles and Ministers of State, Cardinals, 
Archbishops and Bishops, officers of the Army and Navy 
of the highest rank, fawned upon John Law, were proud 
of his smile and prompt to do his bidding. In one short 
year he was a wanderer and a fugitive. In the month of 
December, 1720, he left Paris secretly at night, resumed 
his wandering life, and nine years later died at Venice, 
poor, despised by his victims, and forgotten by the gay 
world which had .known him in the heyday of his young 
manhood. 

It is amazing at this day to read the full text of the 
powers conceded to John Law and his Mississippi Com- 
pany. It had the exclusive right of trade with Louisiana 
for twenty-Jive years. It was authorized to make treaties 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 51 

with the Indians, and to wage war against them when 
necessary. The power was conceded to the company of 
" making grants of land, of levying troops, of erecting for- 
tifications, of appointing the governors of the colony^ and 
the other officers commanding the troops," provided these 
latter should " be accepted and commissioned by the King." 
Among the other extraordinary powers conceded to the 
company were the right to "build ships of war and cast 
jannon, to appoint and reraom judges and other officers of 
justice^ The company obliged itself to bring into Louis- 
iana, before the expiration of its charter, six thousand 
white persons and three thousand negroes, but it was 
agreed that these persons should not be brought from 
another French colony without the consent of the Governor 
of that colony. 

On the 9th of March, 1718, there arrived three vessels 
belonging to the Mississippi Company, bringing " three 
companies of infantry and sixty-nine colonists, who by 
their presence, and the information they brought, revived 
the hope of better days," says Gayarre. The same author 
continues : 

"The office of Governor of Louisiana was detinitively , and 
for the second time, granted to Bienville, as successor to 
L'Epinay, who exercised his powers only for a few months, 
during which he became very unpopular by prohibiting the 
sale of spirituous liquors to the Indians." Bienville was 
personally popular with both soldiers and colonists, had 
been in Louisiana for many years, had been an active par- 
ticipant in all the stirring events of those stirring times, 
and his second appointment was hailed with unaflfected 
joy. The first act of the new Governor was to found the 
present city of New Orleans on the bank of the great river. 
He no doubt looked to it as the future seat of government 
of the colony, but the Mississippi, then as now, had a 
fashion of overflowing its banks, and the embryotic city 
was inundated. But Bienville builded wiser than he knew, 
perhaps. The insignificant village that he planted more 
than one hundred and seventy years. ago, has grown to be 
a great, wealthy and populous city, whose foreign export 
trade places her next in rank to New York, the great 
metropolis of the western world. 



52 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

Under the rule of the Mississippi Company, the idea had 
gradually dawned upon the managers that agriculture 
should be encouraged as a subject of vital and paramount 
importance, and the company arrived at the conclusion 
that the best way to promote the encouragement of the 
cultivation of the soil, was to make large grants of land to 
persons of wealth and importance, and trust to them to in- 
troduce industrious colonists to cultivate the soil. With 
this view large concessions were made to various persons. 
Twelve square miles on the Arkansas river were granted t o 
Law himself. Various large concessions were made to 
lands in divers portions of the present State of Louisiana, 
while in Mississippi immense concessions were made to 
various persons. On the Yazoo river, grants were made to 
a company composed of LeBlanc, Secretary of State, the 
Count de Belleville, the Marquis D'Auleck and LeBlond. 
In the neighborhood of Natchez the company made a large 
grant to Hubert, the King's Gommissaire Ordonnateur and 
to some merchants of St. Malo. The lands on the Bay of 
St. Louis were conceded to Madame de Mezieres, and those 
on Pascagoula Bay to Madame de Chaumont. The result 
of these grants was soon apparent. The grantees were 
men and women of fortune who loved their ease. These had 
no inducement to brave the terrors of a long sea voyage, 
and encounter the privation and hardships of the wilds of 
Louisiana. They contented themselves, therefore, with 
sending large numbers of ignorant peasants to cultivate 
their American estates, under the management of in- 
dolent, incapable and faithless agents. The result was a 
lamentable failure, and the company was compelled to 
look elsewhere for agricultural labor. They naturally 
turned their eyes to Africa. Vessels were, therefore, soon 
plying between the Gulf of Mexico, and the coast of 
Africa, bringing to Louisiana cargoes of African slaves. 
By the rules of the company these slaves were sold to the 
old settlers ; those who had been two or more years in the 
colony, at one-half the price, in cash, and the remainder on 
one year's credit. The new inhabitants, those less than 
two years in the colony, were authorized to purchase 
slaves on a credit of one and two years. 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 53 

In April, 1719, two ships belonging to the Company arrived 
from France, bringing intelligence that war had broken 
out between France and Spain. The vessels also brought 
dispatches to Bienville informing him that hostilities were 
existing between the two countries, and urging him to at- 
tack and capture Pensacola. This important position had 
recently been captured by the French, and in about two 
months the Spaniards recaptured it, in consequence of the 
treachery of a portion of the French garrison. Bienville ar 
once made preparations to assail Pensacola. In the nick 
of time three French ships of war, under command of the 
Count Champmeslin, arrived at Dauphine Island convoy- 
ing two vessels of the company. Bienville at once con- 
ferred with Count Champmeslin, and they arranged for an 
immediate assault upon Pensacola by sea and by land. 
Bienville had organized a body of live hundred Choctaw 
Indians under the command of M. de LaLongueville, and 
in conjunction with Count Champmeslin, made a joint 
attack on the two forts, and after a smart fight of two 
hours the Spanish forts and the Spanish fleet in the har- 
bor of Pensacola surrendered to the arms of France on 
the 17th day of August, 1719. On board of one of the cap- 
tured Spanish ships, thirty five of the French deserters at 
Pensacola were found. A short shrift awaited them. 
Twelve were sentenced to be hanged, and the rest were 
condemned to work for life in the galleys of France. 

Bienville had long been dissatisfied with the character 
of the colonists and soldiers sent to him in Louisiana, and 
after the capture of Pensacola he wrote the following sting- 
ing protest to the home authorities : 

"The Council of State will permit me to represent that it is 
exceedingly painful for an officer who is intrusted with the 
destinies of a colony, to have nothing better to defend her 
than a band of deserters, of smugglers, and of rogues, who 
are ever ready, not only to abandon their flag, but to turn 
their arms against their country. Are not most of the 
people I receive here sent by force ? What attachmenr 
can they conceive for a colony which they look upon in 
the light of a prison, and which they cannot leave at will { 
Can it be imagined that they will not use every eJffort to 



54 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

escape from a position whicli is odious to them? And is 
it not known that they can do so with great facility in a 
country so open as this, and when they can so readily 
find refuge with the Spaniards or the English ? It seems 
to me absolutely necessary, if it be wished to preserve this 
colony to the king, to send to it none but those who are 
willing, and to make life more attractive than it is for the 
present. In the first place, in order to accomplish this 
object, I should recommend to transport here a sufficient 
number of cattle to supply the colony with fresh meat, and 
then to transmit provisions of every kind with more regu- 
larity and in greater quantity than in the past. If not, 
the people here will continue to be exceedingly miserable. 
It must also be taken into consideration that the popula- 
tion and the military forces are so scattered, that in case of 
a sudden emergency, / have to rely, as means of defense, 
only on the Indian nations ! For the present, I am even 
deprived of this resource on account of the want of pro- 
visions and merchandise to secure their support ; but, 
backed by them, we could resist all the efforts of the 
Spaniards, although they could act powerfully against us, 
on account of the proximity of Havana and Vera Cruz. It 
is to be feared, however, that by cruising with large vessels 
on our coast, they may cut oft' our supplies from France. 
We know this to be their intention, from what we have 
learned from the French deserters we have retaken. In 
that case it would be impossible to preserve the colony." 

At this time Bienville was exceedingly anxious to trans- 
fer the Colonial seat of government to New Orleans. His 
proposition created much opposition from his official asso- 
ciates. Hubert, the King's Commissar}^ was strongly in 
favor of Natchez. The fact, however, that he owned large 
tracts of land in that vicinity, weakened his arguments, 
and caused little heed to be paid to them. L' Archam- 
bault, Villardo, and Legas, who represented the Mississippi 
Company, as agents of the commercial interests of that 
company, thought that the interests of those they repre- 
sented would be best promoted by keeping the seat of gov- 
ernment on the seashore. This view settled the question ; 
the opinion of the commercial agents prevailed, and in 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 35 

pursuance of this conclusion, "a body of soldiers and 
mechanics was dispatched to the east side of the Bay of 
Biloxi, where houses and barracks were ordered to be con- 
structed." " That place," says Gayarre, " was called New 
Biloxi, in contradistinction to the first settlement made on 
th£>t bay, and which was ever after known as old Biloxi." 
Thus, after years of chance and change, the Colonial seat 
of government was again planted on the soil of the present 
State of Mississippi. 

"On the 26th of November, 1719," says Gayarre, "a 
royal edict was issued in conformity with the charter grant- 
ing to the Company the exclusive privilege of commerce 
with Louisiana. That edict declared to the world that any 
other vessels than those of the Company, would, on their 
resorting to the Colony for the purpose of trade, incur for- 
feiture and conhscation." 

The condition of the Colony had always been sufficient- 
ly miserable, even under the best government, that of 
Bienville, who was a man of sense and unquestioned pro- 
bity, and approved courage. But he was always opposed 
by rapacious and corrupt factionists, who by the most ras- 
cally methods sought to thwart him in all of his just and 
wise measures. The advent of the year 1720 was marked 
by an act of insane folly that could only have emenated 
from the pure lust of greed. Gayarre. the learned and 
eloquent historian of Louisiana, thus comments upon 
what must have been regarded then as an act supremely 
foolish, and would now be scouted as the " madness of 
the moon :" 

" The opening of the year 1720 was signalized by a proc- 
lamation of a remarkable nature, issued throughout the 
colony in the name of the Company. That proclamation 
informed the inhabitants of Lousiana that they might 
obtain from the stores of the Company at Mobile, Dau- 
phine Island, and Pensacola, all the merchandise and pro- 
vision necessary to their wants. In case the colonists 
should make it a condition of their purchase, that those 
provisions and merchandise should be delivered at New 
Orleans, they were to pay in addition a premium of five 
per centum ; ten per centum if to be delivered at Natchez ; 



56 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

thirteen per centum at the Yazoo ; and tifty per centum at 
the Missouri and Illinois settlements. It was made obliga- 
tory upon the colonists to send to New Orleans, to Biloxi, 
to Ship Island, and to Mobile, the produce of their labor, 
which tlie Company engaged to purchase at the following 
prices : Silk, according to its quality, from seven and a 
half to ten livres ; tobacco, iirst quality, at twenty-five 
livres the hundred pounds ; rye, twenty-five livres per hun- 
dred ; superfine wheat flour, fifteen livres ; rye, ten livres ; 
barley and oats, ninety cents ; deer skins from fifteen to 
twenty cents per skin ; if dressed and without the head 
and tail, thirty cents ; hides, eight cents the pound. 

"It is evident that the Colony could not prosper under the 
system adopted by its rulers. What inducement could any 
set of men have to emigrate to a country where they had not 
only to encounter the dangers of a sickly climate and of sav- 
age warfare, but where they were sure to associate with the 
dregs of the population of the mother country, and to be 
kept in a state of the most oppressive servitude ? They 
could purchase nothing except from the Company, at the 
prices fixed by it ; they could sell to none except to the 
Company, and at the prices which suited its convenience ; 
and they could not go out of the Colony without its per- 
mission. Was it not a servitude, a disguised servitude, 
not in name but in fact, and much worse than the open 
and barefaced servitude of the blacks ? Where was the 
difference between the white slaves transported from 
Europe, and the black ones dragged from Africa by the 
emissaries of the Company ? If the blacks worked only 
tor the benefit of their white masters, both blacks and 
whites labored only for the uses and purposes of the 
almighty Company !" 

During the year 1720 the Company seemed suddenly to 
have awakened to the importance of sending to the Louis- 
iana Colony a large number of people, and in the course of 
the year the population was increased by the arrival of 
more than a thousand Europeans, and five hundred ne- 
groes from the coast of Africa. Of the white immigrants, 
some three hundred were located in the vicinity of Natchez, 
and more than two hundred were located at the settlement 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 57 

on the Yazoo river. The remainder of the whites, and 
probably all of the African slaves, were located at various 
points in the present State of Louisiana. 

By a royal ordinance the military force of the Colony 
was established at twenty companies of lifty men each, 
and this insignificant number, aided by the few and widely 
scattered colonists, constituted the only defense of the 
Colony against the hostile tribes of Indians which sur- 
rounded it — tribes that were able to concentrate, within a 
brief period, not less than three thousand brave and skill- 
ful warriors. 

The Louisiana colonists had long complained of the 
character of the population introduced into the Colony 
from the old country, and they had also complained long 
and loudly of the non-introduction of women as wives for 
the colonists. These causes of complaint were apparently 
about being removed. The French ministry named three 
nuns, Sister Gertrude, and under her, Sister Louise and 
Sister Bergere, with full power to take a certain number 
of girls from the hospital-general in Paris, on condition 
that the girls should consent to emigrate to Louisiana. 
These girls were placed under the absolute control of Sis- 
ter Gertrude, and not one of them could marry without 
the consent of that Sister. It was also ordered that " con- 
victs and vagabonds should no longer be transported to 
Louisiana, for the reason that the king is convinced that 
their presence is a contagious source of corruption, not 
only for the Europeans, but also for the aborigines, who are 
kind-hearted, honest, industrious and well disposed to- 
ward the French." 

" On the 3d of January, 1721,"GayaiTe tells us, " a ship 
of the company arrived with three hundred colonists who 
were destined for the lands granted to Madame de Chau- 
mont, at Pascagoula, and in February eighty girls, who 
were taken from a house of correction in Paris, called La 
Saltpetriere, were landed in Louisiana." " It would 
seem," adds that learned and venerable historian, "that 
dissolute women were not looked upon as being included 
in the recent royal edict which prohibited the transporta- 
tion to Louisiana of vagabonds or persons of bad morals ! " 



58 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

At this time, 1721 , the French government appeared to 
be smitten with absolute madness, and adopted an ordi- 
nance which prohibited the cok^nists of Louisiana cultiva- 
ting the vine, hemp, flax, etc., on the ground that it was 
not good policy that any agricultural product should be 
cultivated in the Colony which might compete with the 
products of the mother country ! The French statesmen 
of that period seem to have been imbued with the sys- 
tem of " protection " which is to-day blighting the pros- 
perity of the people of the United States. 

The fall and flight of John Law, the wide distress occa- 
sioned by the bursting of his bubble, caused an immense 
depreciation in the value of shares of the Mississippi 
Company, and the clamors of the deluded shareholders 
finally reached the ears of the regent and the ministry. 
The drain upon the treasury of France had been constantly 
increasing, and as is usually the case, a scape-goat had to 
be looked for, and hence the Regent and ministers began 
to complain '' of the paucity and inefficacy of the ser- 
vices " of Governor Bienville. In vain did the directors of 
the company tell the ministry how Bienville had been ham- 
pered and thwarted by the officers of the government and 
the agents of the company, and thus those agents had 
checked and weakened all of his plans, and that they, 
the directors, would change those agents and would sub- 
stitute for them such as would actively co-operate with, 
and become entirely su*bordinate to him, and then he 
would have an opportunity to show what he could do 
when left to his own judgment. This, for a period, si- 
lenced the clamor. 

In the month of March, 1721, two hundred Germans 
arrived in the Colony. The}^ were sent by Law to his Ar- 
kansas concession, and had sailed from France on the 
eve of his flight from the countr3\ These Germans were 
soon followed by five hundred negroes from the coast 
of Africa. Ordinarily this addition to the labor of the 
Colony would have been very welcome, but at the time of 
their arrival provisions were high and very scarce. 

About this time it was ordered by a decree that the 
merchandise of the Company should be sold at New Or- 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 59 

leans, Biloxi and Mobile at fifty per cent, profit on their 
original cost in France; at Natchez and Yazoo, seventv 
per cent.; at Arkansas, one hundred per cent.; and at the 
Alibamons, at fifty per cent. This difference was made, as 
G-ayarre tells us, on account of the "competition arising 
from the proximity of British settlements." 

On the 27 th of March it was determined that negroes 
should be sold, on an average, to the inhabitants of the 
colony for six hundred and sixty livres, for which notes 
were to be given payable in one, two and three years, pay- 
able either in tobacco or rice as might be agreed upon. 
When a purchaser failed to meet two payments, if he 
could not pay one-third of the amount then due, the slaves, 
after being advertised, were to be re-sold. If, on a second 
sale, the negroes did not bring enough to pay the Com- 
pany and meet all other expenses, the derelict purchaser 
was liable to imprisonment. 

Tobacco, en feuilles or leaf tobacco, of fair quality, 
when received in payment of negroes, was rated by the 
Company at twenty-five cents per hundred pounds, and rice 
at twelm cents, when delivered at the Company's ware- 
house in New Orleans, Biloxi or Mobile. At this price for 
tobacco and rice, it would seem to be a herculean task for 
the coloi\ists ever to pay for an average negro. "The 
colony was divided into nine territorial districts," says 
Grayarre, "such as New Orleans, Biloxi, Mobile, Alibamons, 
Natchez, Yazoo, etc. There were to be for each district a 
commapder or governor, and a judge, from whose decisions . 
appeals could be taken to the Superior Council sitting at 
new Biloxi." 

"In the month of June, of the same year, 1721," adds 
the historian Gayarre, "there remained in the colony six 
hundred negroes, and four hundred out of the five hun- 
dred colonists who were in the country when Crozat sur- 
rendered his charter. Seven thousand and twenty indi- 
viduals had been transported b}' the Company in forty- 
three vessels especially employed for that purpose, from 
the 25th of October, 1717, to May, 1721. But of this num- 
ber about two thousand having died, deserted or returned 



t>0 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

to France by permission, the remaining white population 
(lid not exceed live thousand four hundred and twenty 
souls. The expenses of administration, however, although 
the territory was so thinly peopled, proved very consider- 
able, and amounted, this year, to 474,274 livres." 

In March, 1722, the Company promulgated an ordinance 
which prohibited the sale of negroes in the Louisiana col- 
ony for transportation out of the colony, to the Spaniards 
or to any other subjects of a foreign nation, under the 
penalty of a fine of one thousand livres and confiscation 
of the negroes." 

Bienville had long desired that the ships of the Company 
should enter the Mississippi river and come directly to 
New Orleans, and on the 20th of April, 1722, he addressed 
a long letter to the French government, in which he set 
forth the advantages of New Orleans and the disadvanta- 
ges of Biloxi as an entrepot of commerce. In that letter 
he said : 

"I have had the honor to send to the Council, in my last 
letter, detailed information on the mouths of the Missis- 
sippi, and to give the assurance that vessels not drawing 
more than thirteen feet water could go over the bar with all 
sail set. without risk of stranding. It would not be difficult 
to render the pass practicable for larger ships, because the 
bottom consists of soft and moving mud. I would have 
already done so, if the engineers who are entrusted with 
the execution of the public works had shared my opinion. 
But their attention is engrossed by the improvements 
which have been attempted at Biloxi, and which I think 
will have to be abandoned. Should the Company persist 
in sending their vessels to Biloxi, it will materially retard 
the progress of the colony, and will expose us to consider- 
able expenses. The vessels are forced to stop at Ship 
Island, which is fifteen miles from the mainland where our 
settlement is situated. To unload these vessels we are 
obliged to send to Ship Island, packet-boats^ which in 
their turn, cannot approach Biloxi nearer than two miles 
and a half. Then other small boats are sent to unload the 
packet-boats, and these boats, small as they are, are 
stranded at a distance of a carbine shot from the shore. 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 61 

This statement of facts ought to be sufficient to convince 
the Council of the importance of ordering all vessels 
coming from Prance to enter the Mississippi, where they 
could discharge their cargo in two days. I assumed the 
responsibility of sending thither two flutes (small ves- 
sels) which crossed the bar with ^11 sails set. I would 
have done the same with the other vessels, which have just 
arrived, if. we had not received the precise order of unload- 
ing them at Biloxi." To this plain statement of facts, it is 
difficult, at this day, to imagine what satisfactory reply 
could be made. 

On the 4th of June a vessel of the Company arrived 
with two hundred and fifty Germans, and with this vessel 
came intelligence confirming the utter failure of Law, and 
the ruin and desolation which, following in the wake of 
the wreck of his bank and all of his roseate schemes, had 
swept over the entire kingdom. This news was alarming 
to the colonists, who feared, that in the presence of the 
overshadowing distress prevalent in the mother country, 
they would be neglected and left to their own resources. 
Partial supplies of provisions continued to arrive for a 
short period, but. as Gayarre tells us, the scene was des- 
tined to change. He says : 

" Toward the close of the year, the supplies which used 
to be sent from France became more scanty, on account of 
the disorderly state into which the affairs of the companj^ 
were falling. Famine again made its appearance in the 
colony, and it became necessary again, in consequence of 
the want of provisions, to quarter some of the troops, in 
small squads, among the Indians, and to scatter the rest 
on the banks of rivers, where they lived as they could, on 
fish and game. Fortunately, toward the latter part of Sep- 
tember, the colony was relieved by the arrival of a vessel 
well stocked with provisions and amunition. It brought 
the information that the Duke of Orleans, Regent of 
France, had entrusted the direction of the company to 
three commissaries, Ferrand, Faget and Machinet. The 
distress of the colony was increased by a hurricane which 
produced the most* extensive damage, and De I'Orme, one 
of the principal agents of the company, who, in a letter of 



62 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

the 30th of October, renders an account of the effects of 
that hurricane, speaks of continual desertions among the 
soldiers, mechanics and sailors, and recommends, as a rem- 
edy, to the demoralizing influence of such derelictions of 
duty, to allow, in all the vessels of the company, free pas- 
sage to those persons who might be disposed to return to 
France." 

Ever since the failure of John Law's bank, the currency 
of the colony had been in a very deplorable condition, 
constantly depreciating in value ; it finally became worth- 
less, and ceased to pass altogether. The company resorted 
to the funding of the notes issued by its officers and 
agents, and issued new cards in their stead, and new prom- 
ises and privileges were attached to these cards, which it 
was hoped would enable them to pass current in the col- 
ony. The time given for the funding of the company's 
notes was very short, and with it was coupled the pro- 
vision that all notes that were not presented for refund- 
ing before a certain day, should become null and void ! 
As these notes were scattered over an immense territory, 
the time for their presentation had already expired be- 
fore many holders were informed of the funding process, 
and in this way a considerable amount of the indebted- 
ness of the company was extinguished, literally sponged 
off of the slate. That this high-handed measure should 
have produced great dissatisfaction among the colonists, 
is not to be wondered at. Their protests were so loud and 
and long continued, that on the 28th day of December, an 
ordinance was issued authorizing the holders of these dis- 
honored notes to send an agent, with full powers to appear 
before the Council and protest against the robbery per- 
petrated against them. Early in the same month the 
Council of State had sent "Saunoy and de la Chaise t3 
Louisiana to force the agents of the company to render 
an account of the merchandise sent b}'^ the company, and 
of the goods which had been delivered to those agents 
by the clerks of Crozat, when the company was substi- 
tuted for him in the government of the province. They 
were instructed to depart with the utmost secres}^ and 
speed, to show their powers to the Superior Council on 



HISTOEY OF MISSISSIPPI. 63 

their arrival in Louisiana, then immediately to repair to 
the company's warehouses, to take possession of them, 
and to put the seals on all the papers of the agents." The 
three new commissaries, Faget, Machinet and Ferrand, 
who were entrusted with supreme power in the colony, 
were by no means reposing upon a bed of roses, for, as 
Gayarre tells us, "they had to cope with the discourage- 
ments of the colonists, who were constantly attempting 
to run away from their miseries, with the desertion, the 
insubordination and rebellious disposition of the troops, 
with a depreciated paper currency, heavy debts, hurri- 
canes and other calamities ; with unfaithful and roguish 
agents, with the spirit of discord which had always ex- 
isted among the officers of the colony, and now, in addi- 
tion to these numerous perplexities, they were threatened 
with a war from the Natchez Indians." 

The three commissaries, now armed with supreme author- 
ity, concurred in what had long been the darling wish of 
Governor Bienville, to transfer the seat of the colonial 
government to New Orleans, and early in the year 1723 
the removal to that city was accomplished, and Biloxi, 
Mississippi, ceased to be the capital of the Province of 
Louisiana forever. 

The city of New Orleans, at that time, consisted of less 
than one hundred very humble houses, and contained a 
population of "between two and three hundred souls ! " 
and presented a very marked contrast to the present pop- 
ulous and wealthy city enthroned like a queen upon the 
margin of the mighty Father of Waters, and within hail- 
ing distance of the Gulf of Mexico, which has been not 
inaptly termed the "Mediterranean Sea of America." 

The condition of the colony had always been one of ab- 
ject misery. The colonists, looking alone to the home gov- 
ernment for their food supplies, necessarily involved a 
constant drain upon the treasury of the French govern- 
ment, and some idea may be gathered of the great ex- 
pense incurred, from a memoir of the period, in which it 
was estimated that the very limited number of people 
scattered over Louisiana and Mississippi, cost the govern- 



64 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

ment of France, for provisions alone, not less than one 
hundred and fifty thousand livres per annum. 

By a treaty of peace entered into between France and 
Spain in 1723, Pensacola, which had been captured by the 
French four years previously, was restored to Spain. 

On the 16th day of January, 1724, Governor Bienville 
received a dispatch from the home government which called 
him to France to make answer to the charges preferred 
against him by his numerous enemies. His cousin, Bois- 
briant, was named for Governor ad interim. 

Meantime the condition of the colony was constantly 
growing worse. To curtail expenses the military force in 
the colony was reduced from twenty to ten companies of 
soldiers. 

The local government, the Mississippi or India Company, 
increased the general distress of the people by their insane 
tinkering with the circulating medium of the colony. Not 
content with the repudiation of their own paper currency, 
they attempted to alter the value of the coin of the realm, 
and the people of to-day will read with surprise, that this 
legacy of John Law, this child of his fertile brain, this 
Mississippi Company, not only attempted, but actually^Zzo^, 
by public edict, add to, and detract from, the value of the 
coin of the realm, and Gayarre tells us, " that in the course 
of two years there was, by successive arbitrary ordinances, 
a rise and fall of nearly fifty per cent, in the value of the 
metallic currency of the country." 

In 1724 the white population of Louisiana was, as stated 
by La Harpe, about seventeen hundred souls, and the 
black population at thirty-three hundred. In New Orleans 
and vicinity there were about one thousand souls, includ- 
ing the troops, and the persons in the employment of the 
government and the company. 

On his arrival in France, in 1725, Bienville presented his 
defense to the French Government. The combination 
against him was a very powerful one. It had spent years 
in maturing its plans, and it was at once apparent that 
Bienville was to be sacrificed to appease the malice of his 
foes. In vain his own gallant services to the crown, and 
those of his father and brothers were recited. In vain were 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 65 

the sacrifices and sufferings of a quarter of a century's ser- 
vice in the province of Louisiana referred to. His enemies 
were destined to prevail — Bienville was fated to fall, and 
his friends were compelled to share with him in his mis- 
fortune. La Harpe, in what he calls his "historical jour- 
nal,'' earnestly defends Bienville against the charges of 
his enemies, and refers to the fact that during his twenty- 
seven years service in Louisiana, where he ruled with 
almost absolute power, while others grew wealthy on the 
distresses of the colonists, Bienville remained poor, his 
entire accumulations during his long and arduous service 
being the paltry sum of twelve thousand dollars. No bet- 
ter evidence could be adduced of the absolute integrity of 
the man and the officer. 

Bienville having been dismissed from the office of G-ov- 
ernor of the province, M. Periere was appointed in his stead. 
The fall of Bienville did not dull the malice of his ene- 
mies. On the contrary, that malice extended to all who 
bore the name or shared the blood of the deposed Governor 
of the province. His brothers, Chateaugne and Serigny, 
both of whom had rendered distinguished service to the 
government of France, and his nephews, Captain and 
Ensign Noyan, both gallant officers, were dismissed the 
service. 

The departure of Bienville for France, in 1725, was re- 
gretted by the entire body of the colonists, who had learned 
to rely upon his integrity, and by the powerful and war- 
like tribe oi Choctaw Indians, who were satisfied by years 
of experience, of his wisdom, his justice, and his truth. 

Before leaving for France Bienville promulgated the 
famous "Black Code" of Louisiana, a code of laws estab- 
lished for the governance of African slaves, which code 
existed under both French and Spanish rule, and remain- 
ed in force in Louisiana long after it became a State 
of the American Union. What connection existed be- 
tween a code of laws for the government of slaves, and the 
expulsion of the Jews from the colony, or the declaration 
that the religion professed by the Roman Catholic Church 
should be the only religion recognized in the Louisiana 
colony, is somewhat difficult to discover, but it is never- ^ 



66 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

theless true that the promulgation of the black code car- 
ried with it, in its first article, " The expulsion of the 
Jews from the Colony," and in its third article, " Per- 
mitted the exercise of the Roman Catholic creed only. 
Every other mode of worship is prohibited." It is an odd 
combination, in which the Jews, the African and the Roman 
Catholic religion are strangely commingled. 

Another singular law was promulgated about this time 
for the protection of domestic animals. The King of 
France, in accordance with the request of the Superior 
Council, issued a royal edict, announcing that the volun- 
tary killing or maiming of a horse or a horned animal by 
any one but the owner, should he punishable with death ! 
and that any person who, without leave from a compe- 
tent authority, should kill his own horse, his own cow, and 
sheep, or their young ones, if of the female sex, should pay 
a fine of three hundred livres ! Referring to the promulga- 
tion of this edict, Gayarre makes the following apt and 
pithy comment, the justice of which it is apprehended will 
be generally conceded : 

"The enacting of such a law was no doubt prompted by 
the necessity of preserving against wanton destruction ani- 
mals which were so useful to the colony, and which it was 
extremely important to multiply. But as the human race 
was quite as scarce in the colony, and of a nobler and 
more precious nature, it seems that some scale of propor- 
tion should have been observed between the degrees of 
punishment to be inflicted for the killing of an ox, or of a 
man, and that the bipeds and quadrupeds should not have 
been assimilated under the same aegis of protection. What 
a wonderful change has taken place in our legislation , in 
our manners and customs, in the whole state of the coun- 
try, and in its very bones and sinews since 1724. This 
change is so great, that we can hardly admit the reality of 
the evidence, that, only a little better than a century ago, 
one might have been broken on the wheel, or decapitated 
in Louisiana, for having maimed or wounded a horse or a 
cow. It shows that blue laws were not confined to Connec- 
ticut. 

Governor Bienville was dismissed from office on the 9th 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 67 

day of August, 1726, and the same day a commission was 
issued to M. Periere as his successor. Three years prior to 
this time, say in 1723, the Mississippi or India Company, 
had sent De la Chaise, with Du Saunoy, to the Colony of 
Louisiana, with very great and inquisitorial powers over 
everybody and everything in the colony, not even except- 
ing the oflS.cials charged with important duties there. Du 
Saunoy died soon after his arrival in the colony, and De 
la Chaise was left to exercise alone the almost unlimited 
power confided to the joint commission. De La Chaise 
was not a strong man intellectually, but Gayarre describes 
him as " a square block of honesty, who neither deviated 
to the right nor to the left from the path of duty, and who, 
possessing a considerable share of energy, moved stoutly 
onward in the accomplishment of his mission, regardless 
of persons and of consequences.'' 

It is no marvel that such a man, surrounded as he was 
by a factious, envious and corrupt cabal, soon found him- 
self in a decidedly uncomfortable position, but it is to his 
credit that neither his courage nor his honesty failed him 
in any emergency, however great. With the most unfal- 
tering firmness, and a sauvity that was always perfect, he 
moved forward in the path of duty. He called everybody, 
iiigh as well as low, to account, and compelled the home 
government to emtilate his own vigorous action. As a re- 
sult of his reports, Boisbriant, the acting Governor, Per- 
rault. Perry, Pauger, the engineer, Fleuriau, the attorney- 
general, all members of the Superior Council, were severely 
censured by the government. In addition Boisbriant, (a 
cousin of Bienville), was ordered to report in person to the 
government in France and justify his official conduct. Per- 
rault, Fazendo and Perry, members of the Council, were 
dismissed from office. The Attorney-Geneial, Fleuriau, 
was permitted to resign, and the office itself was allowed 
to remain vacant for the time-being. To demonstrate that 
the position of the new Governor was no sinecure, it is 
only necessary to quote from a letter written by Druot de 
Valdeterre who commanded at Biloxi and Dauphine Island 
in 1726. De Valdeterre writes as follows in reference to the 
colonists and soldiers, and nothing surely Qould be worse 
than the condition of the latter as described by him : 



68 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

"The inhabitants of this country, whose establishment 
in it is of such recent date, not being governed in tlie 
name of his Majesty, but in that of the Company, have 
become republicans in their thoughts, feelings and man- 
mers, and they consider themselves free from the allegi- 
ance due to a lawful sovereign. The troops are without dis- 
cipline and subordination, without arms and ammunition, 
most of the time without clothing, and they are frequently 
obliged to seek for their food among the Indian tribes. 
There are no forts for their protection, no places of refuge 
for them in cases of attack. The guns and other imple- 
ments of war are buried in sand and abandoned ; the ware- 
houses are unroofed; the merchandise, goods and pro- 
visions are damaged or completely spoiled; the company 
as well as the colonists are plundered without mercy and 
restraint ; revolts and desertions among the troops are 
authorized and sanctioned ; incendiaries, who, for the pur- 
pose of pillage, commit to the flames whole camps, posts, 
settlements and warehouses, remain unpunished ; prison- 
ers of war are forced to become sailors in the service of 
the company, and by culpable negligence or connivance 
they are allowed to run away with ships loaded with mer- 
chandise ; other vessels are willfully stranded or wrecked, 
and their cargoes are lost to their owners ; forgers, rob- 
bers and murderers are secure of impunity. In short, this 
is a country which, to the shame of France be it said, is 
without religion, without justice, without discipline, with- 
out order, and without police." 

This is not a charming picture of the colonists or the 
soldiers, but we have no doubt it was a perfectly true one. 
The company was constantly adding to the embarrassment 
and diflBculties surrounding the colony, by its inordinate 
greed, and its insane interference with the circulating- 
medium of the people, coin as well as paper currency. In 
October, 1726, the Council of State, at the request of the 
company, promulgated an ordinance declaring that "all 
creditors should accept in satisfaction of their claims, and 
that holders of promissory notes and letters of credit should 
receive in payment of those obligations, (any contrary 
stipulations, notwithstanding), the copper currency which 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 69 

had been introduced in the colony, and for the value 
affixed to it, instead of Spanish dollars or other Spanish 
coin. Any person violating this ordinance was declared to 
be guilty of peculation or extortion, sentenced to pay a 
line of 300 livres, one-half of which to go to the informer, 
and the other was applied for the benefit of the charity 
hospital, and further to be whipped and branded by the 
public executioner. The Spanish dollars or coin paid in 
violation of this edict, were confiscated on behalf of the 
government." It would be difficult to find, or even to 
imagine a worse law, one more subversive of common 
honesty and justice, one more deeply impregnated with the 
spirit of despotism and injustice. 

To this most uninviting field the new governor, Periere, 
came in March, 1727. His arrival created but little excite- 
ment among the colonists. They had seen so many 
changes in their governing classes, that any change failed 
to create more than a passing ripple upon the public mind. 
Governor Periere entered upon the discharge of his new 
duties with considerable energy. During the summer of 
that year the governor visited the first French settlements 
ever made on the soil of Mississippi, at Biloxi, Bay St. 
Louis and Pascagoula. He also extended his visit to 
Mobile. By the middle of November he had completed 
a levee of eighteen hundred yards in length for the protec- 
tion of the new seat of government. Later he extended 
this levee above and below the city for a distance of eigh- 
teen hundred yards. He caused a census to be made of 
the inhabitants of the colony. He found that the negroes 
numbered about 2600 souls, and the whites reached but 
did not exceed that number. Early in the year 1728 a ves- 
sel arrived with a number of young girls intended as wives 
for the colonists. These girls, unlike previous arrivals, 
were not taken from houses of correction. Each girl was 
given a casket, by the company, containing some articles 
of dress, which gave rise to the name of "casket girls," a 
title they long wore. These girls were consigned to the 
care and protection of the Ursuline Convent until they 
were happily married. 

Governor Periere directed his attention to the encourage- 



70 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

ment of agriculture, rather than a vain search tor the 
precious metals, and in 1728, rice, indigo, and tobacco were 
cultivated with considerable success by the 2600 slaves in 
the colony. 

Before leaving France, the India Company had given 
Periere the fullest and most minute instructions for his gov- 
erance in the administration of the affairs of the colony. 
It was particular in instructing him that he should support 
De la Chaise, who had, by his integrity and courage, en- 
tirely won the confidence of the company, and brought 
order out of chaos, peace instead of warring factions, quiet 
out of constantly recurring storms. 

In other instructions the company impressed upon 
Periere the importance of visiting, as soon as practicable 
after his arrival, the warlike and powerful Natchez Indians, 
in order that he might make himself full}^ acquainted 
with their dispositions in regard to the French settlements 
in their neighborhood. He was informed that the Natchez 
had three large villages in close proximity to the French 
settlements, which was referred to as the cause of frequent 
misunderstandings, heart-burnings and quarrels, and he 
was instructed to inquire into this matter, and if upon in- 
vestigation, he should agree that this close neighborhood 
was undesirable and likely to lead to unpleasant results, 
he was, in that case, directed to offer to the Indians what 
were regarded as tempting inducements to remove their 
villages to a greater distance Irom their French neighbors. 
Thus passed the year 1728, with a good degree of prosperi- 
ty and universal peace. Had Periere visited the Natchez 
in person, he would probably have been able to bring the 
question of removal to a peaceful solution, and thus have 
averted the horrors of the year 1729. In this year, one 
Chopart was exercising command at Fort Rosalie, where 
stands the present beautiful city of Natchez. From all 
contemporary accounts this officer was a coarse, brutal and 
drunken soldier. For brutality to the officers and men of 
his own command, he had recentlj' had charges preferred 
against him, audit was with extreme difficulty, backed 
by certain great intiuences, that he escaped dismissal from 
the service. As it was, he was severely reprimanded, and 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 71 

under promises thai he would abandon his former course 
of conduct to the officers and men under him, he was, in 
an evil hour, permitted to return to the command of Fort 
Rosalie. The change in his deportment to the soldiers of 
the fort was very marked, but he was bound to have some 
one on whom he could vent his spleen and ill nature. The 
Natchez Indians soon found that they were to be the objects 
of his drunken fury. Acting upon this motive he soon 
displayed his native insolence and malice against the 
Indians, from whom he made^no effort to disguise his 
hatred. 

Not content with numberless acts of brutality and out- 
rage upon the Indians, he finally sent for the Great Sun, 
the traditional head of the Natchez tribe. Without pref- 
ace or circumlocution, he informs this great chief that he 
had received orders from Governor Periere, that the French, 
should at once take possession of the beautiful White 
Apple Village, situated about six miles from Fort Rosalie, 
and there " establish a plantation and to erect certain 
buildings," and that " the Natchez should remove to some 
other place, which they might occupy without prejudice 
to the French." As Gayarre tells us, "The Great Sun 
looked at Chopart with a composed but inquisitive eye, 
and said, " Surely, my white brother does not speak in 
earnest, but only wishes to try the fortitude of the red 
man. Does not my white brother know that the Natchez 
have lived in that village for more years than there are 
hairs in the twisted lock which hangs from the top of my 
head to my waist ?" " Foolish barbarian," exclaimed the 
Frenchman, with unmeasured insolence and contempt, 
what ties of brotherhood can there be between thy race 
and mine? I have no explanation or apology to give t.o 
such as thou. It is sufficient for thee to know that I obey 
superior orders. Obey mine P- This was unusual language 
for the Great Sun, the undisputed chief of a great and 
warlike tribe, to hear. But he stilled his emotion, and 
with kindling eyes, but a calm voice, he replied : "Brother, 
we have not been used to such treatment, ISo far, the 
French have taken nothing from us by force. What they 
possess, we gave freely, or they purchased. Wishing to 



72 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

live in peace with my nation, I say to thee, we have other 
lands that we can spare — take them ! Can we do more ? 
But, as to the village of the White Apple, leave it un- 
touched in the hands of the Natchez. There we have a 
temple, and there the bones of our ancestors have slept 
since we came to dwell on the banks of the father of rivers." 
To this appeal Chopart listened with an insolent smile, 
and made answer thus : " I will not bandy fine sentiments 
with thee, romantic Indian ; but mark my word, and re- 
member that I shall keep it. Toward the latter part of 
November, I expect a galley from New Orleans. If, when 
she arrives, the village of the White Apple is not deliv- 
ered up to me, I will send thee bound hand and feet to our 
great chief in our village down the river. Thou seest that 
I make short work of it. Go ! " Good, I see," was the 
prompt answer of the Indian chief, and I go home to lay 
thy communication before the old and wise men of the 
nation." 

The Great Sun was true to his promise. Returning to 
his village he convened the chiefs in a great council, and 
laid before them the orders of Chopart. There were fierce 
growls of indignation when the Great Sun laid before the 
assembled chiefs, in an official manner, the insolent de- 
mands of the French, but a deep silence fell upon the 
multitude when the Chief of the White Apple, a noted 
warrior and an eloquent orator, was seen to rise. AVith a 
majestic wave of his hand he claimed and received the at- 
tention of his auditory of red warriors. Waiting for a 
few moments, casting his eyes over the assembly after the 
fashion of some orators of later times, the White Apple 
Chief thus addressed his eager and expectant listeners : 

"Children of the Sun, old traditions and oracles have 
long informed us of the approaching doom that awaits 
our nation. We have had ancestors, but we are destined 
to be the ancestors of no human beings. If those tradi- 
tions and oracles are true, nay, if portentous signs and 
appearances are to be believed, soon this nation, which 
was once so powerful, will cease to exist. We have been 
gradually shrinking up into a small and weak population, 
and our once broad domain, which it required many moons 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 73 

to travel over, has fast escaped from our grasp as water 
oozes through the fingers by which it is clutched. Dis- 
eases, frequent human sacrifices in honor of our dead 
chiefs, and long wars with some of the red tribes by which 
we are surrounded, had contributed to diminish our num- 
bers, when, on a sudden, there came upon us this hostile 
race, the pale-faced warriors, who had been announced to 
us as our future destroyers. Bowing to the decree of the 
Great Spirit, and yielding to the superior powers which we 
recognized in these strange men, we tried to conciliate 
their good will, and we granted them land and all sorts of 
supplies. What has been the cor sequence ? Every year 
they have become more greedy, exacting and overbearing. 
Every year, between them and our people, quarrels have 
sprung up, in which blood was shed, and we had to make 
atonement, sometimes at the cost of the heads of our 
most illustrious warriors. The vicinage of these men have 
become at last an intolerable curse upon us. With their 
merchandise and new wares, they have introduced new 
wants among our people, corrupted their morals, and 
changed particularly the manners of our young men, who 
now despise the rugged virtues of their forefathers to ape 
the frivolity of the French, and have become effeminate 
and worthless drunkards. As to our women, their heads 
have been turned by the silver tongue and the gaudy 
plumage of these loose strangers. What is the result? 
Why, that debauchery has crept into every bosom, and 
that the very blood of the Natchez is tainted in its source. 
Which of us is sure now of the affection and the purity of 
his daughter or of his wife, when yonder thieves are 
prowling about our dwellings ? Before the French settled 
near us, we were in the full enjoyment of the greatest of 
blessings, boundless freedom ! What are we now? Hardly 
better than slaves ! Are we not controlled in every thing, 
and dare we move without asking leave from that haughty 
chief who sits in yonder fort with the white flag ? Are 
they not stripping us every day of the poor remains of our 
ancient liberty ? Do they not frequently strike us with 
clubs, as they do their black slaves ? Depend upon it, 
they will soon seize upon us, put us in irons, force us to 



74 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

work for them in their fields, tie us to posts and apply the 
lash to our backs, as they do with the black faces. Shall 
we wait for that moment, or shall we not prefer to die be- 
fore, but satiated with blood and surfeited with revenge?" 
Here the impassioned orator was greeted with a subdued 
howl of indignation from the elder, and a furious bran- 
dishing of their tomahawks by the younger and more im- 
petuous warriors. Waiving his hand, as if to demand 
silence, the White Apple Chief continued his address : 

"Have we not met now to deliberate on a peremptory 
command which the French have ventured to send to us ? 
Have we not before us a sample of their audacity, and the 
harbinger of their future daring ? Have they not ordered 
us to relinquish to them, the harvests which grow around 
us, and which are the results of our labors ? Do they not 
order us away from the village of the White Apple, to 
shift for ourselves in the woods like wild beasts ? Will 
they not soon drive us out of the other villages ? What 
then will become of the tombs of our ancestors and the 
cradles of our children? The white faces will run their 
plows over the bones of our dead, and put their cattle in 
our temples. Shall we consent to such profanation ? Are 
we not strong enough to prevent it ? We are ! Shall 
we wait until the French become so numerous that we 
shall not be able to resist oppression ? For my part, I say. 
No! We can destroy them all, if we choose, and act with 
proper courage and skill. Should we be doomed in our 
turn to perish all, and leave none of our race behind, let it 
notbe without having struck a blow worthy of the children 
of the Sun. Let us not be immolated like bleating sheep, 
withoat resistance, but let us die like warriors, after having 
done a deed that will make the name of the Natchez 
famous among all the red tribes, however distant they may 
be from our native hills. I pause to put this question : 
Shall we yield our birth-place, our beautiful valleys, our 
temples, our sacred mounds, the tombs of our ancestors, 
and everything we hold dear, without a struggle? And 
shall we only utter impotent wailings like babes when de- 
prived of their playthings ? Shall we move away like a 
nation of cowardly beggars, to steal from some weaker tribe 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 75 

the land that we shall want for our support ? War or sub- 
mission ! Which do you choose ? I wait for your answer !'' 

A wild, fierce war-cry, was the immediate response to 
this impassioned appeal of the orator, the warrior-chief of 
the White Apple Village, who soon resumed his address in 
the following words : 

" I see with pride that the contact with the French has 
not yet turned the Natchez into mean-spirited women. 
Now, listen to what I propose for the full and secure ac- 
complishment of our design. We have always been re- 
puted to have more mind than the other red nations. Let 
us show it on this occasion. All the Indians, the Yazoos, 
the Chickasaws, the Choctaws, and others, have equally 
suffered like us from French insolence, and must be tired 
of their oppressive domination. Let us invite them to for- 
get our past hostilities, to join with us in a holy alliance 
against the common enemy, and to free our fatherland, 
with one blow, from the hated presence of strangers. Let 
ambassadors be forthwith sent to them, to lay our propo- 
sition before their council of wise men. If they adopt it, 
let bundles made up of an equal number of small sticks 
be remitted to them and let one stick be removed every 
day. The last remaining one will designate the day when 
this combined attack shall be made against the French, 
over the whole face of the country. Thus assailed by sur- 
prise, and isolated, cut off from the reciprocal succor which 
the several settlements would give to each other, if this 
plan be adopted, the French must succumb under the vast- 
ly superior numbers that we shall bring against them. 
But, for the successful execution of this combination, we 
muse gain time, and we must humbly entreat our august 
sovereign, the Great Sun, here present, to enter into nego- 
tiations with the hungry French wolf, the crocodile-hearted 
chief, in yonder fort, to obtain, b}^ dint of presents, that 
our removal be postponed, and that the delay be sufficient to 
ripen to maturity the good fruit of this day's deliberations. 
The Chief ot the White Apple, children of the Sun, has 
but one more recommendation to make, with a view to 
secure the success of our enterprise : that is, the observ- 
ance of secrecy. You know that women are never to be 



76 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

trusted in any thing, much less with designs of import- 
ance. They are tickle and indiscreet, and they can no more 
keep a secret than a seive will hold water. Besides, many 
of them love the French, and would certainly betray us. 
Therefore, let us swear before we separate, to keep our 
lips sealed, and not to say one word which might give to 
our women the slightest intimation of what we intend. 
The Chief of the White Apple has done, children of the 
Sun, and waits for better advice." 

In accordance with the decision thus formed, the Great 
Sun called upon Chopart. the commander of the fort, early 
the next day, and successfully sought to gain time for their 
proposed vacation of the White Apple Village. The time 
for the departure of the Natchez from their home was ex- 
tended until the latter part of December, on condition that 
the Indians should pay to Chopart a contribution of one 
barrel of corn, and a certain quantity of fowls, furs and 
bears oil. for each and every cabin contained in the White 
Apple Village. Meantime, ambassadors were dispatched 
to the Chickasaw, the Choctaw, and the Yazoo tribes, and 
in due season these plenipotentiaries returned with the 
pleasing intelligence that the war-like tribes to whom 
they had been sent, gladly embraced the proposition sub- 
mitted to them, and on the day named would appear m 
great force before Fort Rosalie, there to glut their ven- 
geance upon the hated pale faces. Great was the rejoic- 
ing of the Natchez upon the receipt of this cheering in- 
telligence, and there can be no doubt that these untu- 
tored lords of the forest considered the day of their deliv- 
erance close at hand. There can be no question, that if 
closely united, under any sensible plan of combined action, 
the French could have been crushed as one could crush aa 
egg-shell. If the opinion of Diron 'd Artaguette, conveyed 
in a dispatch dated December 9th, 1728, that the Chicka- 
saw Indians could place in the field seventeen thousand 
warriors, and that the Choctaws alone could muster ten 
thousand braves, be anything like a correct estimate, there 
can be no doubt that the insignificant force of the French 
could have been swept from the face of the earth as read- 
ily as flax before a consuming fiame. 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 77 

The advice of the old Chief of the White Apple Village 
in regard to keeping their designs concealed from their 
women, was not heeded. The constant movements of the 
Natchez had excited the curiosity, not to say the suspicion 
©f their women, and by various means they had wormed 
the secret from their sons and brothers. In various forms 
they sought to warn the French of their impending dan- 
ger^ but to all warnings the ears of Chopart, the commander 
of Fort Rosalie, were deaf. With brutal and drunken fury 
he consigned to prison all who dared to breathe the word 
danger, and with a fatuity scarcely to be conceived, was 
blindly conlident of his power to coerce the Indians until 
ihe storm, long threatened, burst forth in all its fury, satu- 
rating the earth covered by Fort Rosalie with blood. 

On the 29th day of November, 1729. long before the sun 
had risen, the villages of the Natchez were the scene of 
animated and unusual bustle. The Indians had taken 
their measures with great foresight, and the house of every 
Frenchman, however distant, had several visitors that 
morning. The Natchez had many excuses for their early 
call, some to obtain powder, shot or brandy, for the pur- 
pose of going on a great hunt. Meantime, the Great Sun, 
all of his nobles and many warriors, took up their march for 
Fort Rosalie. The procession moved in great state, with 
much noise, and an ostentatious display of the stipulated 
tribute of fowls, corn, oil and furs. After marching around 
the fort with many manifestations of joy, they entered the 
house of Chopart, the commandant. He appeared in his 
dressing-gown, and was much elated at the sight of the 
abundant tribute tendered by the Natchez. During this 
side show of the Great Sun and his nobles, the Natchez 
swarmed into the fort dancing and singing. Meantime, a 
select party of braves swept noiselessly down the hill to 
the river •' where the long expected and richly laden gal- 
ley, which had arrived the day previous, was moored. 
There each warrior having leisurely picked out his man 
and made his aim sure a simultaneous discharge was 
heard." This was the prearranged signal, and it was in- 
stantly answered from every direction, and a scene of 
slaughter that still causes a thrill of horror was enacted. 



78 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

Gov^ernor Periere, in Ms dispatch to the home government 
thus describes the pitiable affair : 

"Such being the disposition of the Indians, and the hour 
having come, the general assassination of the French took 
so little time, that the execution of the deed and the pre- 
ceding signal were almost but one and the same thing. 
One single discharge closed the whole affair, with the ex- 
ception of the house of La Loire des CJrsins, in which were 
eight men, who defended themselves with desperation. 
They made the house good against the Indians during the 
whole day. Six of them were killed, and when night came 
the remaining two escaped. When the attack began, La 
Loire des Ursins happened to be on horseback, and being 
cut off from his house by the intervening foes, he fought 
to the death, and killed four Indians. The people who 
were shut up in his house had already killed eight. Thus 
it cost the Natchez only twelve men to destroy two hun- 
dred and fifty of ours, through the fault of the command- 
ing ofl3.cer who alone deserved the fate which was shared 
by his unfortunate companions. It was easy for him, with 
the arms and forces he had, to inflict on our enemies a 
severer blow than the one we have received, and which has 
brought this colony to within two inches of utter destruc- 
tion." It is gratifying to know that Chopart met a most 
ignominious death. Having hidden in his garden, when he 
was discovered no warrior would soil his hands with such 
a wretch, and he was beaten to death with clubs by the 
lowest class of the Natchez tribe. The women and child- 
ren, to the number of some three hundred, with only an 
occasional exception, had their lives spared. They were 
reserved for a life of slavery, and a life worse than any 
slavery. Gayarre tells us that : 

"The Natchez being under the impression that all the 
French were destroyed throughout the land, that they had 
no longer anything to fear from such redoubtable foes, and 
finding themselves more wealthy than they had ever been, 
gave themselves up to the wildest exhibitions of joy. They 
wound up that bloody day of the 29th of November by a 
general carousal, and they kept dancing and singing until 
late at night, around pyramids of French heads, piled up 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 79 

as cannon-balls usually are in an arsenal. The agonies of 
the wretched women and children, who witnessed the 
slaughter of their husbands and fathers, and who, amid 
the demoniacal rejoicings which had followed, had to bear 
outrages too horrible to be related, and far more easily 
conceived than described. Long before the next day 
dawned upon them, the Natchez were in such a state of 
inebriation, that thirty determined Frenchmen, says Du- 
mont, could have destroyed the whole nation. The Indians 
had set fire to all the habitations of the French which were 
reduced to ashes." 

It will never be known why the general combined 
attack of the Natchez, the Yazoo, the Chickasaw, and the 
Choctaw tribes was not made as concerted. Various rea- 
sons have been given why the attack by the Natchez alone 
was precipitated, but the most plausible one yet suggested 
is that the children of the Sun, regarding themselves as 
strong enough to cope with the French single-handed, 
anticipated the day of attack to avoid sharing the rich 
spoil with their allies. The French had built a fort among 
the Yazoo Indians, which they called Fort St. Peter. 
This fort was erected on the Yazoo river, in what is now 
Warren county. It was located on the bank of the river, 
on a bluff now known as " Snyder's Bluff," and about 
twelve or fourteen miles from the city of Vicksburg. The 
commander of Fort St. Peter, Captain Du Coder, was on 
a visit to Fort Rosalie at the time of the massacre there, 
and perished with his countrymen. The Indians, embold- 
ened by the massacre of the French at Natchez, deter- 
mined to attack St. Peter, and had but little difficulty in 
capturing it, as the garrison consisted of only twenty men. 
These were all killed, together with the few families who 
had settled under the protection of the fort. Fort St. Peter 
was captured, and the settlement around it destroyed on 
the 2d day of January, 1730. 

The French Governors for the period embraced between 
the years 1717 to 1730, were : 

First—Bienville, who was. for the second time, appointed 
Governor, to succeed M. L'Epinay. 

Second — M. Periere, who was appointed to succeed Bien- 
ville. 



CHAPTER IV. 



MISSISSIPPI AS A FRENCH PROVINCE, 
FROM 1730 TO 1763. 

THE alarm created by the massacre at Fort Rosalie by 
the Natchez Indians, and at Fort St. Peter, by the 
Yazoo tribe, was so great that the entire colony became 
panic stricken. Such was the demoralization exhibited by 
the people that Governor Periere deemed it necessary to 
write the government on the subject. In an official dis- 
patch the Governor used the following language : 

"I am extremely sorry to see, from the manifestation of 
such universal alarm, that there is less of French courage 
in Louisiana than anywhere else. Fear had assumed such 
uncontrollable domination over all, the very insignificant 
nation of the Chouachas, a little above New Orleans, which 
was composed of thirty warriors^ became a subject of 
terror to all our people. This induced me to have them 
destroyed hy our negroes, who executed this mission with 
as much promptitude as secrecy. This example, given by 
our negroes, kept in check all the small nations higher up 
the river. If I had been inclined to avail myself of the 
good disposition of our negroes, I could have destroyed 
all those nations which are no service to us, and which, on 
the contrary, may stimulate our blacks to revolt as the 
Natchez have done." 

On January 5th, 1730, Governor Periere dispatched a 
vessel to France to advise the government of the desperate 
condition of the colony and to demand the assistance so 
imperiously required. It was apparent that a telling blow 
must soon be struck against the Natchez tribe. The 
bloody massacre of two hundred and fifty Frenchmen at 
Fort Rosalie, the capture and detention of nearly three 
hundred helpless women and children, who had been sub- 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 97 

needed." This they could not do, and so the negotiations 
fell through. 

A census was taken in 1744 for the entire colony, which 
demonstrated that there were four thousand white people, 
including eight hundred troops, and two thousand and 
twenty negroes of both sexes. This included what are now 
the States of Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas, Illinois and 
Missouri. It is worthy of note that the settlement of 
Natchez contained only eight white males, and fifteen 
negroes, and that of Pascagoula is put down at ten white 
males and sixty negroe?, while no mention of Bay St. 
Louis, Biloxi, the original seat of the colonial government 
or Pass Christian, is made. It is hardly probable that 
these settlements had all been broken up, or that the entire 
population of old and new Biloxi, Bay St. Louis and Pass 
Christian, had entirely disappeared. 

The Marquis de Vaudreuil was no more fortunate than 
his predecessor had been, for he soon became embroiled with 
Lenormant, the King's Commissary, whom he denounced 
to the government, in a dispatch bearing date in January, 
1746, as having "retained for his private use all the mer- 
chandise which he ought to have delivered as presents to 
the Indians, and that he had them retailed by his clerk to 
the inhabitants." In another dispatch, dated March 9th, 
1746, the Governor renewed his complaint against Lenor- 
mant, who he declared, was "starving the troops, and fail- 
ing to supply the different settlements in the colony with 
the necessary provisions, and the Indians with the mer- 
chandise that they had a right to expect." "By his 
fault," said the Governor, "I am placed in a very difficult 
position, being destitute of the means o^ paying for scalps 
and of remunerating our friends and allies." 

"In the year 1752," says Gayarre, "the Chickasaws hav- 
ing renewed their depredations at the instigation of the 
English, the Marquis de Vaudreuil put himself at the head 
of seven hundred regulars and a large number of Indians, 
with whom he marched against the enemy. But this 
expedition was not more successful than those undertaken 
by Bienville. The Chickasaws shut themselves up in some 
forts, which the English had helped them to construct, and 
7 



98 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

which proved impregnable. Contenting himself with set- 
ting fire to some deserted villages, and destroying the crops 
and the cattle of the Chickasaws, the Marquis returned to 
New Orleans after having considerably increased the forti- 
fications at the Tombigbee where he left a stronger garri- 
son." 

On the 9tli day of February, 1753, another change in the 
administration of the affairs of the colony occurred. The 
Marquis de Vaudreuil, having previously been appointed 
Governor of Canada, Captain Kerlerec, a distinguished 
naval officer, was appointed to succeed him. The new 
Governor arrived in New Orleans, and was installed in his 
office on the day above mentioned. 

"In less than six months after his arrival in the colony," 
says Gayarre, "'the Governor was beginning to see the tide 
of a sea of trouble and vexation rising fast upon him. 
Many of the officers were discontented, and the Capuchins, 
whom he seems to have offended, were using against him 
all their priestly influence. The state of the colony itself 
was not such as to present a very gratifying spectacle to 
its Governor." 

At this juncture Kerlerec wrote to the home government 
the following extraordinary letter, an official communica- 
tion which surpasses in its severity against the troops 
which the French government was in the habit of sending 
to Louisiana, all the criticism and complaint from any of 
his predecessors, from the days of Bienville down to that 
of De Vaudreuil, his immediate predecessor. In this letter 
he said : 

"The German settlement has not recovered from the un- 
fortunate blow which it received from the Indians, in or 
about the year 1748. The inhabitants of that post with- 
draw from it insensibly, and therefore their numbers di- 
minish every day. To those who remain nothing can in- 
spire a feeling of security, and they are so disgusted with 
their present position, that many of them have petitioned 
me for lands elsewhere, unless I grant them an increase of 
troops for protection. They even desire that those troops 
be Swiss, on account of the sympathies and affinities 
which they have with the men of that nation, and because 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 99 

the Swiss, being disposed to hard working, will help them 
in their agricnlturai labors, and will marry and settle 
among them much more than the French are likely to do. 
Another reason is, that the troops of our nation, on ac- 
count of the horrid acts of which they are known to be 
capable, have inspired the German settlers, who have re- 
tained a proper sense of their worth and dignity, with a 
deep aversion to having with them any communication. 
1 have sent to those Germans fifteen men of the Swiss com- 
pany of Velezand, and for the reasons here given, I solicit 
an increase of the Stolss troops/ The Swiss behave ex- 
ceedingly well ; it would be necessary to carry their num- 
ber to three hundred. I would prefer reducing the French 
troops and augmenting the Swiss, such is the superiority 
of the latter over the former !" 

Governor Kerlerec found himself no exception to the 
long list of his predecessors, in so far as the difficulties 
that had surrounded them were concerned. He soon 
learned what all of his predecessors had ascertained, that 
the position of Governor of the Colony of Louisiana, 
was no sinecure. The policy of buying the friendship 
of the Indians, which had been adopted at the outset, was 
a fatally disastrous one, as the French had learned by a 
long and sad experience, and in the commencement of the 
year 1754 Kerlerec wrote to his government in the follow- 
ing doleful strain : 

"I lack merchandise to trade with, and, particularly, to 
make to the Choctaws the customary presents which they 
expect, and of which three installments have now become 
due, without this debt having been discharged. This is 
the cause of their addressing me with vehement and inso- 
lent reproaches." 

On the 21st day of October, 1757, he advised his govern- 
ment that "he had written fifteen dispatches in cipher, 
without receiving an answer, and that the colony was so 
defenseless, that it would yield to the first attack, partic- 
ularly if the French were abandoned by the Indians, who, 
so far, had been their allies, and who were showing much 
dissatisfaction." Continuing, Kerlerec wrote : "The En- 
glish have taken very efficacious means to capture all ships 



100 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

bound to Louisiana. They have established a permanent 
cruise at Cape St. Antonio de Cuba, and their privateers are 
spreading desolation among our coasters, and pounce upon 
them at the very mouth of the Mississippi. In a word, we 
are lacking in everything, and the discontent of our In- 
dians is a subject of serious fear. So far, I have quieted 
them, but it has been at considerable expense. Had it 
not been for the distribution among them of some mer- 
chandise, procured from small vessels which had eluded 
the vigilance of our enemies, some revolution fatal to us 
would have sprung up among the Indians." 

In August, 1758, De Rochemore, the new Intendant Com- 
missary, arrived in New Orleans with some of the supplies 
which had been so long demanded by Kerlerec, and 
"never," says Gayarre, '"had help been more opportune, 
for the Choctaws, impatient at not receiving their custo- 
mary presents, had begun acts of hostility against the 
French. According to a statement made by Kerlerec, the 
Choctaws could then bring into the field four thousand 
warriors, and the Alibamons three thousand." "These 
two nations," wrote Kerlerec, are the bulwarks of the col- 
ony, and they must be conciliated, cost what it may." 

Five years had sped away — five years of misery to the 
poor colonists, five years of frightful embarassment, an- 
noyance and disgust to Governor Kerlerec — when the world 
was to be astounded by an act of supreme folly and fatu^ 
ity, an act perfectly in accordance, however, with the prof- 
ligate and licentious character of the weak, vicious and 
imbecile Louis XV, by the grace of God King of France, 
and derisively called "His Most Christian Majesty !" 
Gayarre tells the disgraceful story thus : "On the 3d day 
of November, 1762, the Marquis of Grimaldi, the ambas- 
sador of Spain at the court of Versailles, and the Duke of 
Choioseul, the premier of the French ministry, signed, at 
Fontainbleau, an act by which the French king ceded to 
his cousin of Spain, and to his successors, forever, in full 
ownership and without any exception or reservation what- 
ever, from the pure impulse of his generous heart, and 
from the sense of the aftection and friendship existing be- 
tween these two royal persons, all the country known un- 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 101 

der the name of Louisiana. This apparent act of gener- 
osity had been so spontaneous and unforseen on the part 
of the French king, that the Spanish minister had no in- 
structions on the subject, and accepted the gift condition- 
ally, subject to the ratification of his Catholic Majesty. 
On the 13th day of the same month, the king of Spain de- 
clared that, in order to better cement the union which ex- 
isted between the two nations as between the two kings, he 
accepted the donation tendered him by the generosity of 
his most Christian Majesty. 

"These acts of donation and acceptance were kept a 
secret, and the king of France continued to act as sov- 
ereign of Louisiana. Thus, on the first of January, 1763, 
he appointed Nicholas Chauvin de la Freniere, attorney- 
general, and, on the 10th of February, he appointed as 
comptroller, Foucalt, who already held the office of Inten- 
dant Commissary. On the same day, the 1st of January, 
1763, a treaty of peace was signed at Paris, between the 
kings of Spain and of France on the one side, and the 
king of Great Britain on the other, with the consent and 
acquiescence of the king of Portugal. Article seven of 
this remarkable treaty recites : 

"In order to re-establish peace on solid and durable foun- 
dations, and to remove forever all causes of dispute in re- 
lation to the limits between the French and British terri- 
tories on the continent of America, it is agreed that for 
the future, the limits between the possessions of his Most 
Christian Majesty and those of his Britanic Majesty in 
that part of the world shall be irrevocably fixed by a line 
drawn along the middle of the river Mississippi, from its 
source to the river Iberville, and from thence by a line in 
the middle of that stream and of the lakes Maurepas and 
Pontchartrain to the sea ; and to that effect, the Most 
Christian King cedes, in full property and with full guar- 
anty, to his Britanic Majesty, the river and the port of 
Mobile, and all that he possesses, or has a right to possess, 
on the left side of the Mississippi, with the exception of 
the town of New Orleans, and the island on which it stands, 
and which shall be retained by France with the understand- 
ing that the navigation of the Mississippi shall be free and 



102 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

open to the subjects of his Britanic Majesty as well as 
those of his Most Christian Majest}^ in all its length from 
source to the sea, and particularly that part of it which is 
between said island and New Orleans and the right bank 
of the river, including egress and ingress at its mouth. It 
is further stipulated that the ships of both nations shall not 
be stopped on the river, visited, or subjected to any duty." 

"By this treaty the king of France renounced his preten- 
sions to Nova Scotia, or Acadia, and guaranteed the whole 
of it with its dependencies to Great Britain, ceding also 
Canada with its dependencies, and whatever remained of his 
ancient possessions in that portion of North America. 

"The king of Spain ceded also to Great Britain the Prov- 
ince of Florida, with the Port of St. Augustine and the 
Bay of Pensacola, as well as all the country he possessed 
on the continent of North America, to the east and north- 
east of the river Mississippi. 

"It will be observed that, by this treaty, the king of 
France transferred to Great Britain, in 1763, a part of the 
territory he had already given to Spain in November, 1762. 

"Thus France, with one stroke of the pen, found herself 
stripped of those boundless possessions which she had 
acquired at the cost of so much heroic blood and so much 
treasure, and which extended in one proud, uninterrupted 
line, from the mouth of the St. Lawrence to that of the 
Mississippi. The adventurous and much enduring popu- 
lation which had settled there, and had overcome so many 
perils under the flag of France, and for her benefit, was 
coldly delivered over to the yoke of foreign masters. 

"Tradition points to the spot called 'El ultimo suspiro 
del Moro' — the last sigh of the Moor, where the infidel 
king, driven away from his fair city of Grenada, looked 
back on her white towers glittering in the distance, and 
wept like a woman for the loss of that which he had not 
defended like a man. But he of France, the most Chris- 
tian Majesty, did he sigh at the immensity of his loss, he 
who never had the tenderness of a woman's heart, the pride 
of a king, or the courage of a man ?" 

"The English called West Florida that portion of ter- 
ritory they had acquired from Spain. George Johnstone 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 103 

having been appointed Governor of Florida, soon arrived 
at Pensacola in company with Major Loftus, who was to 
take command of the Illinois district, and they both lost 
no time in sending detachments to take possession of forts 
Conde, Toulouse. Baton Rouge, and Natchez. Thus the 
British lion had at last put his paw on a considerable por- 
tion of Louisiana, with no doubt a strong desire and with 
a fair prospect of grasping the rest at no distant time. 

"On the 16th of March, 1763, the king of France, who 
still ruled that part of Louisiana which he had not given 
away to Spain, announced by royal ordinance his purpose 
to disband the troops in service in Louisiana, and that in 
future he proposed only to keep a factory, with four com- 
panies of infantry for its protection and police. D' Ab- 
badie was at the same time appointed director of the fac- 
tory, with the powers of a military commander. 

"The colonists and the Indians alike were indignant at 
having their countr}^ given away to the king of Spain, and 
each rebelled against being transferred, like cattle, to for- 
eign masters without their consent. The Indians were 
especially indignant when they heard of the treaty of 
cession, and declared that the king of France had no right 
to transfer them to any white or red chief in existence, and 
threatened to resist the execution of the treaty. D' Ab- 
badie reached New Orleans on the 29th of June, 176^^, and 
Governor Kerlerec soon after sailed for France, where, 
immediately after his arrival, he was thrown into the Bas- 
tile. He served as Governor for ten years and five months, 
and like all of his predecessors had met only with in- 
gratitude from a profligate monarch and a base and cor- 
rupt court." 

Thus, after nearly two-thirds of a century, the territory 
of Mississippi was finally and forever released from the 
rule of venality and corruption, a rule of profligacy and 
imbecility never surpassed on the continent of i^merica, 
save only during the period of reconstruction in the South- 
ern States of the American Union. No better evidence of 
this can be adduced than a memorial bearing date 
August 15th, 1763, prepared by Redon de Rassac, who 



104 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

seems to have held an official position in the colony. This 
memorial is believed to be yet in the archives of the 
Marine Department of France. Among the causes given 
by Redon de Rassac why the colony had not prospered, 
and among the most potent obstacles to its progress, pros- 
perity and happiness, he mentions the following : 

"1st. Under M. de Vaudreuil, half of the women sent to 
Louisiana had no children and were between fifty and sixty 
years of age. 

2d. A good many families were located below the 
English turn, on marshy and unwholesome ground, requir- 
ing incessant labor to make and keep up the embankments. 
To this must be added the deleterious influence of poverty, 
and every variety of misery, the abjection of the men and 
the prostitution of the women. 

3d. The officers are addicted to trading and converting 
their soldiers into slaves, a shameful system of plunder, 
authorized hy the governors, provided they had their share 
of it ; the dissolute morals of the military ; drunkenness, 
brawls and duels, by which half of the population was de- 
stroyed .^" 

When it is remembered that the women referred to by 
Redon de Rassac were sent out as wives for the colonists — 
women, for the most part, selected from workhouses, cor- 
rectional institutions and other reformatories — the force of 
the statement contained in the memorial will be more 
readily comprehended. 

Before taking a final leave of the French government of 
the Colony of Louisiana, we refer once more to Grovernor 
Kerlerec, whom it will be remembered, was, on his return 
to France, imprisoned within the walls of the Bastile. 
Anxious to regain his liberty, and still more solicitous to 
keep himself before the king and the court, Kerlerec pre- 
pared a memorial to the French government, in which he 
sought to show the importance of converting that colony, 
in concert with Spain, to some profitable use. The 
minister to whom this memorial was referred, made this 
brief endorsement on the proposition of Kerlerec : 

"Considering that there are in this memorial some de- 
tails which might point out to the court of Madrid proxi- 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 105 

mate causes of conflict with the English, and therefore 
render the cession of Louisiana less acceptable to Spain, 
it seems proper that this memorial be recast, so as to pro- 
duce a favorable impression upon that government.'" 

"It is evident from this circumstance," says Gaiyarre, 
"and many others, that the French government considered 
Louisiana as a burden of which it was anxious to disen- 
cumber itself, and that it was so fearful of the king of 
Spain altering or withdrawing his act'of acceptance, that it 
took every precaution to prevent his Catholic Majesty from 
rejecting the gift tendered to him. It is not to be wondered 
at, after all, that France felt inclined to fling away Louis- 
iana in despair at her want of success in colonizing that 
distant possession. Louisiana had proved a dead weight 
in the hands of the great merchant, Crozat, who had 
buried several millions in her wilderness. The India Com- 
pany had, with the same result, devoted over twenty mil- 
lions to carry into execution, on the banks of the Missis- 
sippi, the grand scheme in which her charter originated. 
With regard to the French government, it does not seem 
an exaggeration to suppose that it had squandered from 
forty to fifty millions of livres in the attempt to colonize 
Louisiana. Thus an enormous capital had been disbursed, 
no return had been made for it, and what was still more 
discouraging, was the conviction brought home to France 
that if she retained possession of Louisiana, she would be 
under the necessity of incurring still more considerable ex- 
penses, for, at the very moment when the cession of that 
province was made to Spain, D' Abbadie was informing his 
government, in repeated dispatches, that the colony was in 
a state of complete destitution, that it was a chaos of in- 
iquities, and that to re-establish order therein, it would be 
necessary to have recourse to measures of an extreme char- 
acter. Hence the anxiety of the French government to 
part with a territory Avhich, at a later period and in abler 
hands, was destined to astonish the world by its rapid and 
gigantic prosperity." 

The French Governors for the period of time covered 
by the years from 1730 to 1763, were : 



106 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

First — M. Periere, who had been appointed to succeed 
Bienville. 

Second — Bienville, who was for the third time appointed 
Governor. 

Third — The Marquis of Vaudreuil. 

Fourth — M. Kerlerec, who succeeded the Marquis of 
Vaudreuil. 



CHAPTER V. 



MISSISSIPPI AS AN ENGLISH PROVINCE, 
FROM 1768 TO 1781. 

BY the provisions of the treaty of Paris, entered into 
on the 10th day of February, 1763, between the kings 
of Spain and France, on the one part, and the king of Great 
Britain on the other, England became possessed of a good 
portion of the territory embraced within the limits of the 
present State of Mississippi. Under the treaty of Paris 
the territory ceded to England, so far as Mississippi is con- 
cerned, was thus described, and the limits thereof defined, 
by a "line drawn along the middle of the river Mississippi, 
from its source to the river Iberville, and from thence 
by a line in the middle of that stream, and of the lakes 
Maurepas and Pontchartrain to the sea ; and to that effect, 
the most Christian King cedes, in full property and with 
full guaranty, to his Britanic Majesty, the river and port 
of Mobile, and all that he possesses or has the right to 
possess, on the left bank of the Mississippi, with the excep 
tion of the town of New Orleans and the Island on which it 
stands." By the same treaty the king of Spain ceded to 
the king of England, "the Province of Florida, with the 
Fort of St. Augustine and the Bay of Pensacola, as well as 
all the country he possessed on the continent of North 
America, to the east and south-east of the Mississippi 
river." 

The government of England, always prompt in looking 
after and protecting its possessions, in whatever quarter 
of the globe they may chance to be, was not less prompt 
and energetic in taking possession of the immense country 
it had acquired by the treaty of Paris, and thus the terri- 
tory ot Mississippi became an appendage of "the inviolate 



108 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

island of the free," and came under the protection of the 
meteor flag of England for more than eighteen years. 

Florida was divided into two provinces, and West 
Florida, embracing the territory of Mississippi, was estab- 
lished with the following boundaries : "to the southward 
by the Gulf of Mexico, (including all islands within six 
leagues of the coast) from the river Apalachicola to lake 
Fontchartrain. To the westward by said lake, lake Mau- 
repas and the river Mississippi. To the northward by a 
line drawn due east from the Mississippi river, along 
the 81 St degree north latitude, to the river Apalachicola, 
and the eastward by said river." By a subsequent order 
in council the boundaries of West Florida were extended 
as follows : From "a line to begin at the mouth of the Yazoo, 
and run due east to the Chattahoochie, and thence to the 
mouth of the Apalachicola river ; thence westward along 
the Gulf of Mexico, through lakes Borgne, Fontchartrain, 
and Maurepas up the rivers Amite and Iberville, to the Mis- 
sissippi, and thence along the middle of said river to the 
mouth of the Yazoo." 

On the 21st day of November, 1763, Captain George 
Johnstone was appointed Governor of West Florida, and 
arrived at Pensacola early in the year 1764. Governor 
Johnstone was a native of Scotland, a distinguished naval 
officer, and brought with him a regiment of veteran High- 
landers, with many persons in his train as settlers in the 
colony. He immediately sent garrisons to the various 
forts in the province, and designated the commandants 
thereof. Among those were Fort Conde, at Mobile, to 
which he gave the name of Fort Charlotte, in honor of the 
British Queen. To that at Manchac he gave the name of 
Bute, while Fort Rosalie, at Natchez, he changed to Pan- 
mure. These last were two ministers of George the Third. 
Governor Johnstone established a Superior Court at Pen- 
sacola, whose jurisdiction extended over the entire Prov- 
ince, from the Mississippi river to Pensacola. This was a 
court established for the trial of all civil cases beyond a 
magistrate's jurisdiction, as well as for the trial of crimi- 
nal offenders. Thus persons charged with the commission 
of crime at Natchez, or at the mouth of the Yazoo,' were 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 109 

taken before the Superior Court at Pensacola, where they 
were tried under the laws of England, Minor civil magis- 
trates were also appointed in various sections of the Prov- 
ince, for the adjudication of small amounts in dispute 
between individuals, but when the amount at issue ex- 
ceeded that usually adjudicated by magistrates, the matter 
in dispute was compelled to be carried to the Superior 
Court. 

The instructions to Governor Johnstone were of an ex- 
ceedingly liberal character generally, but his instructions 
in regard to the disposition of the public lands were most 
liberal. "He was empowered to make grants of land," 
says Col. Claiborne, "without fee or reward, to every re- 
tired officer who had served in America against the French 
and Indians, and to all private soldiers disbanded in 
America, who should apply." These -rewards, however, it 
must be said, were hugely disproportionate to the service 
supposed to have been rendered. A field oflicer was en- 
titled to receive a grant of five thousand acres; a captain, 
to three thousand acres ; every subaltern or staff officer, two 
thousand acres; non-commissioned officers, three hundred, 
and privates, one hundred acres. 

These liberal land grants gave a wonderful impetus to 
immigration, and to the settlement of the country. Many ' 
of these retired officers who received these grants, them- i 
selves became citizens, and devoted their energies to the 
settlement and building up of the colony. Those who did 
not choose thus to utilize the lands granted them, sold 
their grants to others who did, and during the nearly nine- 
teen years of the English rule in Mississippi, was remark- 
able as the first time that immigration had ever been 
attracted to the colony. 

It is true that under the early rule of the French, some 
settlements had been made in the vicinity of Natchez, near 
the mouth of the Yazoo, and along the shores of the Sound, 
as at Bay St. Louis, Biloxi (old and new), Pascagoulas, 
etc., etc. But the Natchez Indians, in 1729, had surprised 
the garrison at Fort Rosalie, murdered the soldiers, scalped 
the settlers in the vicinity, burned their houses and drove 
off" their stock. The garrison at Fort St, Peter, near the 



110 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

mouth of the Yazoo, soon after shared the same fate. The 
small settlement in the neighborhood was broken up, the 
people murdered and their houses burned. 

Fort St. Peter was located on the Yazoo river, in War- 
ren county, at a point long known as ^'Snyder's Bluff," a 
defensive position occupied by the Confederate forces dur- 
ing the late war between the States. 

It is safe to say, therefore, that after an occupation of 
the territory for nearly sixty-five years by the French, 
after spending countless millions of treasure, having sac- 
rificed thousands of valuable lives, there were not to be 
found, when the English assumed control of the colony of 
Mississippi, from the Tombigbee to the Gulf of Mexico, 
or west from that stream to the mighty king of floods, 
three hundred people, white and black combined. 

"This generous provision on the part of the Crown," 
says Claiborne, '"was the nest-egg of our population. It 
attracted a class of enterprising and intelligent men, who, 
after the peace of 1768, had been drifting about. Immigra- 
tion rapidly set in, consisting at first of disbanded officers 
and soldiers. The troubles and dissensions between the 
colonies were growing serious. Great diversity of opinion 
existed among the colonists, and especially in the Caro- 
linas. Many persons loyal to the crown, but unwilling to 
take part against the people among whom they lived, 
embracing, in numerous instances, their kindred and even 
their own households, sought refuge in West Florida from 
the distractions at home. It has been the custom to de- 
nounce these men as tories and enemies of their country. 
Such censure would be proper when applied to men who 
drew the sword against their countrymen, and waged upon 
them a savage and relentless war. But the same sentence 
should not be pronounced on those whose sense of loyalty 
and of duty forbade them to fight against the king, but 
rather than stain their hands with kindred blood, re- 
nounced home, comfort, societ)'' and position, for an 
asylum in the wilderness. The right of conscience and 
opinion is sacred, and at this distance of time, these men, 
once generally condemned, may be properly appreciated. 
Many of this class from Georgia and the Carolinas, and 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. Ill 

some from the colonies farther north, followed the British 
flag to Fensacola, and thence made their way to the shores 
of Lake Pontchartrain, to Manchac, Baton Rouge, Natchez, 
Bayou Pierre and Walnut Hills," this latter point being 
the site of the present populous and flourishing city of 
Vicksburg. 

Governor Johnstone proved to be an intelligent and ener- 
getic executive oflficer, and promptly looked after the in- 
terest of the colony and the people confided to his care. 
In the year 1764, he placed Col. Robert Farmer, who was 
a man of fortune, and highly educated, in command of 
Fort Charlotte, at Mobile. Col. Farmer soon fitted out an 
expedition of three hundred and fifty men, under the com- 
mand of Major Loftus, to take possession of the posts in 
the Illinois country. The expedition departed by the way 
of the lakes to ascend the Mississippi, Great Britain, by 
treaty stipulations, having the right to the navigation of 
that great river. Major Loftus seems to have been a 
fanatical, narrow-minded man, with a huge appreciation 
of his own importance. The detachment left New Orleans 
in February. Col. Claiborne says : "The French Gov- 
ernor, who was still in command in New Orleans, had 
taken the precaution to advise the Indians to' keep the 
peace, and placed his interpreter at the service of the 
English oflicer." Referring to this expedition, Col. Clai- 
borne has these additional remarks : 

''Between New Orleans and Point Coupee they lost fifty 
men by desertion. At the Point they came near a collision 
with the French. A slave took refuge on one of the 
barges, where he was discovered by his master, who ap- 
plied to the commandant of the French post for his arrest. 
Major Loftus would not allow the arrest, declaring, in 
advance of the great jurists of England, that the fugitive 
on his barge stood on British soil, and was under the pro- 
tection of the flag. He ordered his men to stand to their 
arms. The French commandant prudently desisted." 

Major Loftus was very valorous in maintaining a senti- 
ment in defiance of the rights of comity and good neigh- 
borhood, while he was well aware of the fact that his 
countrymen were at that very time actively engaged in the 



112 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

slave trade, that British vessels were constantly bringing 
stolen negroes from the coast of Africa to America, and 
that the flag of England floated over slave ships, and gave 
protection to the most nefarious traffic that ever disgraced 
any country or any flag. Major Loftus was the advance 
guard, or avant courier^ of a sentiment that some years 
later flourished in great luxuriance among our brethren in 
the New England States. Having amassed colossal for- 
tunes by bringing to America tens of thousands of African 
slaves, and selling them to the early planters of the South, 
these pious, Grod-fearing "saints of the Lord," concluded 
to placate the great Ruler of the Universe, by denouncing 
the system of human slavery as "the sum of all villainies,'^ 
and anathematizing the men who purchased African slaves 
from them. 

Having performed this gallant feat of arms at Pointe 
Coupee, Major Loftus proceeded up the river in pursuance 
X)f his orders, but on approaching the point now known as 
Fort Adams, he was fired on by a small party of Indians 
lying in ambush. Some six or eight of his men were killed, 
and as many wounded, whereupon the valorous Major pre- 
cipitately retired without firing a gun. He hastily re- 
treated to New Orleans, where he vented his rage upon the 
French, wildly charging them with being in league with 
the Indians, and the real authors of his misadventures. 
He repaired at once to Mobile, and from thence to Pensa- 
cola, and we hear of Major Loftus no more in connection 
with the history of Mississippi. 

He gave, by common consent, his name to a bold head- 
land on the Mississippi river, in what is now Wilkinson 
county. The French had named it La Roche a Damon, in 
honor of a pious and devoted priest of that name, who 
had established a mission there, but in memory of the 
heroic manner in which Major Loftus repelled the assault 
of the Indians at that point, it was afterwards known as 
''Loftus Heights." A few years later General Wilkinson 
erected a fort there, and in honor of the then President of 
the United States, called it Fort Adams, and the post- 
office there still bears the name of "Fort Adams." 

In the year 1765, Governor Johnstone invited a general 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 81 

jected to outrages that make the blood run cold, all cried 
aloud for the sternest and bloodiest retribution. On the 
16th of January, the heart of the Governor was made 
much lighter by the intelligence that a body of seven 
hundred Choctaw warriors, under the command of a i^'rench 
officer, named Le Sueur, were marching against the Natchez, 
and that a force of one hundred and tifty of the same 
nation had been thrown between the Natchez and the 
Yazoo tribes, in order to prevent the former from sending 
their prisoners to the latter, as it was surmised they would 
do if they were attacked. The rendezvous of the French 
forces was fixed in the territory of the Tunica Indians, a 
tribe that had been uniformly friendly to the French, and 
was placed under the command of Loubois, a soldier of 
tried courage and supposed ability. The number of French 
soldiers assembled at the Tunica rendezvous was estimated 
at about five hundred men of all arms, and the aggregate, 
including the Choctaws, under the command of Le Sueur, 
reached the number of fourteen hundred effective men. 
The Natchez had been constantly drinking and carousing 
since the massacre of Fort Rosalie, and were in a perpet- 
ual state of helpless drunkenness, owing to the large quan- 
tity of brandy and wine they had captured. On the 27th 
of January, 1730, while engaged in one of their carousals 
on the banks of St. Catherine's Creek, they were suddenly 
attacked by Le Sueur and his Choctaw warriors. Their 
defeat would have been certain and decisive, if the negroes 
who had joined the Natchez after the Fort Rosalie massa- 
cre had not fought with desperation on the side of their 
new-found allies. The desperation exhibited by the Afri- 
cans enabled the Natchez to retire within two forts they had 
erected in anticipation of a result they knew would follow, 
but the Choctaws under Le Sueur killed sixty of the 
Natchez braves, captured fifteen or twenty prisoners, res- 
cued fifty odd French women and children, and recovered 
some one hundred African slaves. 

On the 8th day of February, a portion of the French 
forces arrived at Natchez and joined the Choctaws on St. 
Catherine's Creek. The next day the French took up a 
position nearer the Mississippi. The remainder of the 



82 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

French forces arrived on that day, and the next few days 
were consumed in getting the artillery, a iew indifferent 
guns, in position, and in futile parleyings with the Indians. 
A few skirmishes of a most undecisive character had 
occurred, and the Choctaw braves Avere profoundly dis- 
gusted with the imbecility of the French, and threatened 
to withdraw their forces if the siege was not prosecuted 
with greater vigor. Intimidated by the more active opera- 
tions of the French, caused by the threatened withdrawal 
of the Choctaws, the Natchez, on the morning of the 25th, 
hoisted a white flag, as a manifestation of their desire to 
have a parley. The result of the parley was, that the 
French forces should retire to the bank of the river, and that 
the Natchez, on surrendering to the Choctaws their prison- 
ers, and the spoils they had captured, were to remain in 
possession of their lands and forts. This was a most piti- 
able finale, but the most contemptible part of it was the 
determination of the commander of the French, as soon as 
he had obtained possession of the prisoners, to ignore the 
stipulations he had engaged to fulfill, and re-commence the 
siege against the Natchez. He had a more wily foe to 
contend with, however, than he dreamed of. The Natchez 
had no notion of trusting to French faith. They had 
learned through « generation to distrust the pale faces, and 
they knew, intuitively, that the French could never forgive 
them for slaughtering so many ot their countrymen. 
Gayarre thus tells the shameful story of the siege and its 
results : 

"On the 27th of February, 1730, they (the Natchez war- 
riors), delivered to the Choctaws all the French women, 
children and negroes, and on the /light of the 28th they 
made their escape! On the morning of the 29th, the 
French, much to their surprise, saw the forts deserted and 
found in them nothing but worthless rags. Thus finished 
this expedition, which reflects little credit on the French 
arms." 

The truth is, that like all military operations undertaken 
"by the French in the colony of Louisiana, the expedition 
against the Natchez tribe was a mere abortion, a ridiculous 
fiasco, disgraceful to the arms of France. 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 83 

Diron d' Artaguette, one of the King's Commissaries, in 
reporting, in one of Ms dispatclies to the home govern- 
ment, reliects severely on the absence of all judgment, 
policy or vigor on the part of Governor Periere. He also 
condemns Lubois for his great delay at the Tunica ren- 
dezvous. He refers to "the shameful conclusion of the 
siege," and adds, ""the Choctaws, it is alleged, wanted to 
retire, but the truth is, that the French army was the first 
to give up ! And strange stories are told about silver plate 
and other valuable articles, which became the subjects of 
clandestine tr ansae lions. ■'' The only inference to be drawn 
from this statement is, that the Indians bribed the French 
to connive at their escape ! 

In his official report to the home government. Governor 
Periere labors hard to explain the causes of this wretched 
failure. "Several causes," he says, "have prevented our 
capturing the whole Natchez nation. The first, the weak- 
ness of our troops, which were good for nothing. The 
second, the distrust in which we were of the Choctaws, 
whom we suspected of treason. They also boasted that 
the English and the Chickasaws were coming to their rescue. 
All these circumstances, which were not encouraging for 
men who had but little experience, forced Lubois, who had 
served with distinction, to be satisfied with the surrender 
of our women, children and negroes." In this report 
Periere continues : "Fifteen negroes, in whose hands we had 
put weapons, performed prodigies of valor. If the blacJcs 
did not cost so much, and if their labors were not so neces- 
sary to the colony, it would be better to turn them into 
soldiers, and to dismiss those we have, who are so bad 
and cowardly that they seem to have been manufactured 
purposely for this country." 

The Natchez Indians having abandoned their native hills 
in Mississippi, crossed the great river with a view to estab- 
lishing themselves in new homes west of that stream. It 
is not the purpose of this volume to follow them in their 
wanderings, their fierce conflicts, and their suflerings. It 
is believed that a portion of the tribe found homes and 
hunting grounds in the territory of the warlike Chickasaws 
on the Tombigbee, but the tribe soon perished as their 
oracles had foretold. 



S4 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

On the first day of August, Governor Periere wrote to 
the home government as follows : 

"Those of the Indians who had entered into the general 
conspiracy, have, since its failure, come back to us, and 
now help us in daily harassing the Natchez, who have 
crossed the Mississippi and retired into the interior of the 
country. Since their flight I have succeeded in having 
fifty of them either killed or taken prisoners. Latterly, I 
lurried here four men and two women, and sent tlie rest to 
San Domingo! Two hundred and fifty warriors of the 
friendly nations have been dispatched by me to watch and 
blockade the Natchez until we receive more troops from 
France." 

"A few days after," says Gayarre, "The Tunicas carried 
to New Orleans a Natchez woman they had captured, and 
Governor Periere allowed them to hum her with great cere- 
mony on a platform erected' in front of the city, between 
the city and the levee. The victim supported with the most 
stoical fortitude all the tortures which were inflicted upon 
her, and did not shed a tear. On the contrary, she up- 
braided her torturers with their want of skill, and flinging 
at them every opprobrious epithet she could think of, she 
prophesied their speedy destruction. Her prediction 
proved true. The Tunicas had hardly returned home 
when they were surprised by the Natchez, their village 
burned, their old chief, the constant ally of the French, 
killed, and almost their whole nation destroyed." 

Gayarre continues thus : 

"The Chickasaws having granted an asylum to a portion 
of the Natchez, foresaw that they would be attacked in 
their turn, and sought to anticipate the'.blow, by stirring up 
the Indian nations against the French, and by exciting the 
blacks to revolt. Fortunately the conspiracy of the blacks 
was discovered in time ; one woman was hung and eight 
men were broken on the wheel, among whom was a negro 
of the name of Sambo, who was at the head of the con- 
spirators, and who was a man of the most desperate 
character. The majority of the negroes then in the colony 
were Banbaras, and they were the concoctors of the re- 
bellion. Their plan was, after having butchered the 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 85 

whites, to keep as their slaves all the blacks who were not 
of their nation, and to rule the country under leaders 
periodically elected. It would have been a sort of Banbara 
republic. All these events, crowding upon each^other, had 
kept the colonists in a constant fever of fearful excitement. 
Their apprehensions were a little allayed by the arrival, 
on the 10th of August, of a small additional corps of 
troops, commanded by De Salverte, a brother of Periere ; 
so that the forces of the colony could then be set down at 
about one thousand to twelve hundred regulars, and eight 
hundred militiamen. It would have been a pretty effective 
force if it could have been kepc concentrated, instead of 
scattered in distant settlements."' 

"In the closing month of the year 1730, Governor Periere 
headed an expedition against the Natchez Indians, who 
were supposed to be in the neighborhood of Trinity river, 
in the present State of Louisiana. After various combats 
with that tribe he succeeded, in January, 1731, in captur- 
ing the Great Sun, the Little Sun, forty-tive male Indians, 
and four hundred and fifty women and children. Among 
the women was the mother of the Little Sun. Immedi- 
ately on his arrival at New Orleans he sent these captives 
to the Island of San Domingo, where they were sold to the 
planters as slaves. 

"After their last defeat near Black River, some of the 
scattered remnants of that tribe having incorporated them- 
selves with the Chickasaws," says Gayarre, "were inces- 
santly engaged in marauding expeditions against their 
white foes." Diron d'Artaguette believed, despite their 
heavy losses in their recent conflicts with the French, the 
Natchez were still able to take the field with no less than 
three hundred warriors. About this tim.e Governor Periere 
sent to the Chickasaws to demand that they should "dis- 
miss the Natchez under pain of his displeasure." These 
warlike Indians answered that the}^ would "know how to 
protect those to whom the hospitalit}^ of their tribe had 
been pledged." "Thus," says Gayarre, "a Chickasaw war 
had risen from the ashes of the Natchez war." Various 
attempts were made to induce the Choctaws to ally them- 
selves with the French in this new war against the Chick- 



86 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

asaws, "but," said Diron d'Artaguette sadly, "how can we 
ever succeed, when we have nothing in our possession to 
tempt these Indians to become our allies, when we are 
without resources, without provisions, and have everything 
to fear." 

Beauchamp, the officer in command at Mobile, in a dis 
patch to the home government, thus refers to the serious 
dangers that surrounded the colony : 

"The Choctaws are not disposed favorably, which is the 
more to be regretted from the fact, that, should this nation 
declare itself against us, we should be obliged to abandon 
the colony ; provided, however, we had time to do so. 
Since the departure of Bienville, all the Indians have been 
spoiled. In spite of the augmentation of merchandise we 
have to supply them with, and the reduction in the quan- 
tity of furs which they give us back in return, they are 
not satisfied. On the contrary, they are insolent, and less 
tractable. Our war with the Natchez was a source of 
vexation and danger only to our traders on the Missis- 
sippi, but the Chickasaw war is the cause of uneasiness and 
apprehension to the whole colony. These Indians had 
sent three emissaries to the Illinois to urge them to take 
sides against us, but these emissaries have been delivered 
into our hands, and M. Periere intends to have them 
burned.'''' 

As evidence of the increasing difficulties which threat- 
ened the existence of the colony, the Alibamons and Tala- 
pouches, under the wily advice of the Chickasaws, who 
were largely guided by the influence of the English, were 
on the eve of declaring war on the Choctaws, the only In- 
dians whose alliance and active assistance the French 
could hope for. "If such an event had taken place," says 
Beauchamp, in continuation, "the colony would have been 
on fire." He then proceeds to inveigh against the admin- 
istration of Periere, with great severity, and proceeds thus : 

"The evil is now without a remedy, unless M. de Bien- 
ville could come back. Perhaps he could succeed in 
changing the state of things, on account of the considera- 
tion which "the Indians have always had for him, and of 
the services which he has rendered them, particularly to 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 87 

the Choctaws." After a very particular review of the con- 
dition of affairs in the colony, Beauchamp continues thus : 
"You see to what a state is reduced this colony, which has 
so long been groaning under a harsh command. Tlie 
colonists are in a miserably wretched condition, and are 
ill-supplied with the provisions and the merchandise they 
want. When flour is sent here, the heads of the colony 
take hold of it, as they do with all the brandy and cor- 
dials which are imported, and they do not part with these 
articles except at exorbitant prices. It is, after all, what 
they do for every sort of merchandise. The soldiers, also, 
have always had just causes of complaint against the com- 
pany with regard to their food and clothing. I need not 
speak of the enormous profits made by the company on 
everything of which it is permitted the sale in the colony." 
With this graphic, and undeniably truthful description 
of the condition of aftairs in the colony, it is not strange 
that the India Company, the child of John Law's versatile 
brain, at last grew weary, as did its predecessor, Anthony 
Crozat, of the care and responsibility of the colony. Soon 
after the massacre of the French at Fort Rosalie, the India 
Company became disgusted with their charge, and opened 
negotiations with the government for the surrender and 
annulment of their charter. These negotiations were pro- 
tracted to a great length, but finally, during the winter of 
1731 and 1732, the surrender of the charter of the India 
Company was accepted by the government, and the Com- 
pany was thus relieved of any further control of, or con- 
nection with the colony, after fourteen years of the most 
dismal failure known to the history of government, com- 
merce or finance, on the American continent. During the 
winter of 1732 and 1733, M. Periere was removed from the 
position of Governor, and Bienville was, for the fourth 
time, appointed Governor of the colony. Early in the 
year 1733, Bienville, greatly to the satisfaction of the sol- 
diers and the people, returned to the colony after an ab- 
sence of eight years. There can scarcely be room for 
doubt that the return of Bienville to Louisiana, with his 
old position of Governor, and all the power the position 
implied, was no less gratifying to himself than to the col- 



88 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

onists. But this restoration to power for ten years added 
nothing to the reputation or happiness of Bienville. Nor 
did it add to the peace and prosperity of the wretchedly 
misgoverned colony, or to the quiet and repose of the un- 
fortunate colonists. For thirty-four years these colonists 
had been constantly exposed to the assaults of the wily 
and cruel Indian tribes by whom they were surrounded. 
Nor were these the only dangers to which the people were 
exposed. The diseases of this new and fertile country swept 
oflf hundreds of people every year. In addition, they 
were frequently exposed to famine. With a folly and 
fatuity that is utterly incomprehensible at the present 
day, the French government and the India Company had 
failed utterly to encourage the production of food crops, 
and relied upon the home government for their supplies 
of provisions. To add to the unhappiness of Bienville, he 
indulged in the wild dream of driving the Chickasaw In- 
dians from the wide district of territory which they occu- 
pied in the northern portion of the present State of Mis- 
sissippi. The Chickasaw tribe was one of the largest, 
most powerful, warlike and ferocious of the aboriginal 
tribes. Their territory extended from the Tombigbee on 
the east, to the Mississippi on the west, and comprised at 
once a beautiful and fertile country. The woods abounded 
with wild game, and the beautiful streams, which 
traversed the country in every direction, were teeming 
with delicious fish. The Chickasaw Indians were able at 
any time to muster ten thousand warriors lor field or 
foray. 

In the month of April, 1736, Bienville, with five hun- 
dred and forty-four Frenchmen, forty -five negroes and six 
hundred Choctaw Indians, arrived at the Tombigbee depot, 
(this depot is supposed to have been at Cotton Gin Port, 
on the eastern bank of the Tombigbee river, in the present 
county of Monroe) having been greatly delayed by strong 
"currents, freshets, storms and constant rains." Another 
month was wasted in marching to the Chickasaw towns, 
where they arrived on the 22d of May, and encamped at a 
distance of twenty-seven miles from the principal villages. 
In a few days Bienville, having completed his arrange- 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 89 

ments, directed an assault to be made on the vil- 
lages, which was, with much bloodshed, repulsed. The 
battle waged for two or three hours, but hnally the French 
were driven from the field, with the loss of many killed 
outright, and a large number were wounded. A few of 
the dead soldiers fell into the hands of the Indians, who, 
greatly to the horror of the French, ' 'impaled their naked 
corpses on their pallisades." Bienville and his dispirited 
followers wearily retreated to the Tombigbee, where they 
had left their barges, and their arrival was none too soon, 
for when they reached the river they found it rapidly fall- 
ing. This necessitated an immediate embarkation, or a 
weary march by land through an almost impenetrable 
wilderness. This latter was not to be thought of, and the 
discomfitted party was at once embarked on the falling 
waters of the Tombigbee. 

It was the original purpose of Bienville to have d'Arta- 
guette, the brother of Diron d'Artaguette, who had greatly 
distinguished himself during the assault on Fort Rosalie, 
and was then in command on the Illinois, to co-operate 
with him with all his forces in his campaign against the 
Chickasaw Indians. D'Artaguette was promptly on the 
ground with a force of thirty soldiers, one hundred volun- 
teers, and nearly the entire force of the Kaskaskia In- 
dians. He was joined shortly by de Vincennes, with forty 
Iroquois and many of the Wabash Indians. Reaching the 
vicinity of the Chickasaw villages, he received a letter 
from Bienville informing him, that, owing to unexpiected 
delays, he would not be able to reach the Chickasaws be- 
fore the end of April. This letter was submitted to a 
council of war, composed of officers and Indian chiefs. 
There was reported to be an isolated village, having not 
more than thirty cabins, supposed to be that of the 
Natchez refugees, which the Indians thought could be 
readily captured. In this opinion the French officers con- 
curred, and the attack was resolved upon. The entire 
force of d'Artaguette was one hundred and thirty French- 
men and three hundred and sixty-six Indians, and on 
Palm Sunday, 1736, the attack on the village was gal- 
lantly made ; but hardly had the engagement commenced, 



90 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

when a body of some five hundred Chickasaws, accom- 
panied by thirty Englishmen, who had ensconced them- 
selves behind a hill, rushed suddenly and with such impet- 
uosity upon the attacking party, that, according to Gray- 
arre, "the Miamis and the Illinois took to flight. Thirty- 
eight Iroquois and twenty-eight Arkansas Indians, sent by 
Grandpre, were the only Indians that stood by the French, 
who fought with desperate valor against the overwhelming 
odds they had to contend with." 

Twelve French officers were soon killed, and d'Arta- 
guette, having lost forty- five of his one hundred men, was 
soon forced to retreat, but they were pursued with such 
fury that they were finally completely routed. D'Arta- 
guette fell, covered with wounds, and was taken prisoner, 
together with Father Senac, a Jesuit, Du Tisne, an 
officer of the regular army, Lalande, a militia captain, 
five or six soldiers and militiamen, "numbering nineteen 
in all." The victory of the Chickasaws was very com- 
plete, and the spoils they captured were most valuable. 
Among the captured property were "the provisions and 
baggage of the French, with four hundred and fifty 
pounds of powder, twelve thousand bullets and eleven 
horses." "D'Artaguette, Father Senac and fifteen others," 
says Gayarre, "were hurned alive^ according to the usage 
of the Indians in festivals for victories obtained, and 
the remaining two captains were set aside to be ex- 
changed for a Chickasaw warrior who was in the hands of 
the French. This exchange eflectually took place some 
time after. The melancholy fate of d'Artaguette and his 
companions produced in the colony almost as painful an 
impression as the Natchez massacre, and the bad success 
of Bienville was another cause of humiliation, which con- 
tributed to increase the gloom hanging over the country." 

The inglorious failure of the expedition against the 
Chickasaws, which Bienville had led in person, and the 
loss of so many valuable lives, must have been profoundly 
humiliating to that officer, but he made an earnest effort 
to justify himself to the home government. In his official 
report to the Minister of the Colonial Department, he said : 

"Your Excellency will have seen by the accounts of this 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 91 

laborious campaign, which I have transmitted to the gov- 
ernment, that in its conception and execution, and in the 
closing retreat, I made the best use I could of the means I 
had at my disposal, and you will also have remarked that, 
after having suffered in my preparations from delays which 
I could not anticipate, much less could I foresee the cow- 
ardice of the troops put under my orders. It is true, that, 
considering the pitiful recruits of blackguards which are 
sent here, one ought never to entertain the flattering hope 
of making soldiers of them. What is worse, is the obli- 
gation under which I am, with such troops, to hazard the 
reputation of the nation, and to expose our officers to the 
necessity of meeting death or dishonor. The recruits re- 
cently arrived by the Gironde are still inferior to the pre- 
ceding ones. There are but one or two men among them 
whose size is above five feet ; as to the rest, they are under 
four feet ten inches. With regard to their moral character, 
it is sufficient to state that, out of fifty-two who have 
lately been sent here, more than one-half have already been 
shipped for larceny. In a word, these useless beings are 
not worth the food bestowed upon them ; they are burdens 
to the colony, and from them no efficient military service 
is to be expected." 

"It was only after his return to New Orleans that Bien- 
ville," says Gayarre, "learned that d'Artaguette had ar- 
rived before him at the Chickasaw villages, and had met 
with a signal defeat and tragical death.'' 

There can be no question that the system of recruiting- 
soldiers for the colony, adopted by the home government, 
was radically defective Every governor of the colony 
had constantly protested against the character of the 
soldiers sent here, and the complaint was ever that these 
"so-called" soldiers were recruited from the prisons and 
workhouses of France. Nothing valuable could be ex- 
pected from a gang of jail birds, convicts and ruffians, 
and the usual result followed with absolute certainty, dis- 
aster, dishonor, and death to the officers whose misfortune 
it was to be placed in command of such hopeless vaga- 
bonds, thieves and cowards. 

Governor Bienville still persisted in his purpose of driv- 



92 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

ing the powerful and warlike Chickasaws from their 
beautiful country, and in accordance with this oft-repeated 
demand, the home government had sent him "amuni- 
tion, provisions, merchandise and seven hundred men." 
It had also furnished him with a number of "bombardiers, 
cannoniers and miners," and with these reinforcements 
came M. de Noailles, with whom Bienville was directed to 
act in concert, because the former has the necessary talents 
and experience to command.'''' This must have been a most 
mortifying instruction to Bienville, but he managed to 
conceal his humiliation under a smiling and calm exterior, 
though the wound to his soldierly sensibilities must have 
rankled deep and lasting. 

The influence of the English was constantly extending 
with the Choctaw Indians, and with that influence the in- 
trigues of the former against the French were energetically 
directed to the alienation of the Choctaws from their 
former allies. This was to some extent successful. The 
important Chief Red Shoe had already joined the English, 
and in 1739, when the Chevalier de Noyan was sent to the 
Choctaws to conciliate them and obtain their support in 
the expedition against the Chickasaws, he was successful 
in his mission to the extent of securing thirty-two villages, 
while ten towns under the control of Red Shoe adhered to 
the English. 

The greater portion of the year 1739 was dedicated to 
making preparations for a campaign which it was hoped 
was to end in the destruction of the Chickasaw nation. 
The Choctaw Chief, Red Shoe, had gone to the English 
settlements in Georgia with a considerable idea of his im- 
portance, with the expectation of being munificently re- 
warded. The English, however, received him coldly, and 
Red Shoe, thoroughly disgusted, returned to his nation 
and renewed his allegiance to the French. The return of 
this important Chief gave to Bienville the united support 
of the Choctaws, a matter of supreme importance to him. 

Bienville had determined to abandon his former route 
to the Chickasaw country, across the lakes and up the 
Tombigbee river, and resolved to ascend the Mississippi 
river in barges, and for that purpose appointed the general 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 93 

rendezvous at the mouth of the Margot (now Wolf) river, 
near the present city of Memphis. From this rendezvous, 
the distance to the Chickasaw villages was about one hun- 
dred and fifty miles, through a high, beautiful and gently 
undulating country. In the month of August the Chevalier 
de Noyan. who was in command of the advance guard of 
the expedition, reached the general rendezvous. Soon 
after his arrival de la Buissonniere reached the mouth of 
the Margot from the Illinois district, with a detachment of 
regulars, militia, and some two hundred Indians. About 
a week later witnessed the arrival of Celeron and St. 
Laurent, in command of a company of Canadian cadets 
from Montreal and Quebec, and a large body of Northern 
Indians. It may seem to the reader rather odd that these 
troops and Indians, from the far North and West, should 
have traversed an unbroken wilderness for many hundreds 
of miles, and arrived at the rendezvous in the month of 
August, while it took Bienville until the 12th day of No- 
vember to reach the same objective point. In the mean- 
time, the troops that had been Ij^ing idle on the banks of 
the Margot river had been suftering dreadfully with dis- 
ease, and a very large number of deaths had occurred 
among them. On the 12th of November there was a 
review of the entire command, and it was found to number 
twelve hundred white men and twenty -four hundred In- 
dians. This was a force quite sufficient to make an im- 
pression upon the Chickasaws, and incline them to peace, 
but the usual fatality seemed to be paralyzing this, the 
greatest military expedition that had yet been seen in the 
colony. It soon became apparent that some remarkable 
miscalculation had been made in regard to the quantity of 
provisions on hand to vitual so large a force as was there as- 
sembled. Months were wasted in idleness and indecision, 
and Bienville and de Noailles seemed to be smitten with 
absolute imbecility. In the month of February, 1740, a 
council of war was held and a remarkable decision was 
arrived at. It was resolved that "considering all the un- 
toward circumstances the French had to contend with, it 
was impossible to march to the Chickasaw villages, vrithout 
hazarding the reputation of the Mng''s arms, and orders 



94 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

were given to prepare for a retreat." Connected with this 
most inglorious fiasco^ this marching up the hill merely 
for the purpose of "marching down again," Gayarre tells 
us, with what ease this expedition might have been made 
a splendid success, redounding to the honor of the French 
arms, and adding immensely to the reputation of the two 
officers chiefly concerned. He says : 

"What is remarkable is, that Celeron, either authorized 
by Bienville, or assuming the undertaking on his own re- 
sponsibility, departed from Fort Assumption, (a fort built 
by the first soldiers who reached the general rendezvous at 
the mouth of the Margot river), on the 15th of March, 
after the bulk of the army had moved off down the Missis- 
sippi, and marched upon the Chickasaw villages, with his 
company of cadets, about one hundred Frenchmen and 
four or five hundred Indians. When Celeron appeared in 
sight of the villages with his small force, the Chickasaws, 
either believing it was only the head of the French army 
which was coming behind, or frightened at the vastness of 
the preparations which had been made against them, and at 
the unalterable determination which the French seemed to 
have taken to wage a war of extermination against their 
nation, presented themselves before the French oflicer, as 
suppliants for peace, which they solicited in the humblest 
terms. Celeron accepted their propositions, and sent some 
of their chiefs after Bienville, whom they overtook on his 
way to New Orleans. The French governor made with 
them a treaty by which they promised to deliver up the 
Natchez they had in their possession, and to exterminate 
the rest of that unfortunate race. However, Bienville de- 
clared to them that the treaty of peace did not include the 
Choctaws, who would continue to make war upon, and 
to receive from the French the customary price for every 
Chickasaw scalp they would raise." No better proof of 
the abundant success which should have crowned this ex- 
pedition, had it only been conducted with skill and energy, 
can possibly be offered, and it must have been a bitter re- 
flection to Bienville, when he remembered the remarkable 
success that Celeron had achieved with one hundred 
Frenchmen and five hundred Indians, while himself and 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 95 

de Noailles, with a force six times as large, had only 
achieved a miserable and disgraceful failure. 

Celeron having successfully accomplished what Bienville 
and de Noailles, with six times his force, had ingloriously 
failed in, returned to the mouth of the Margot river, where, 
having razed Fort Assumption to the ground, departed for 
his far away post in Canada. 

Bienville, chafing under the repeated failures of his expe- 
ditions against the Chickasaw Indians, and having failed 
to satisfy the home government that his reverses were not 
due to his own bad management, was frequently in receipt 
of letters from his government, which, from their harshness, 
must have stung his proud spirit to the quick, finally re- 
solved to demand his recall. 

It is impossible not to sympathize with a proud, high- 
spirited soldier who had grown gray in the service of his 
country, and who had seen all his efforts come to naught. 
There is something sad and almost pathetic in a letter he 
dispatched to his government under the date of March 
26th, 1742, in which he said : 

"If success had always corresponded with my applica- 
tion to the affairs of the government and administration of 
this colony, and with my zeal for the king, I should have 
rejoiced in consecrating the rest of my days to such 
objects; but through a sort of fatality which, for some 
time past, has obstinately thwarted my best concerted 
plans, I have frequently lost the fruit of my labors, and 
perhaps some ground in your Excellency's confidence. 
Therefore have I come to the conclusion, that it is no lon- 
ger necessary for me to struggle against my adverse for- 
tune. I hope that better luck may attend my successor. 
During the balance of my stay here, I will give all my 
attention to smooth difliiculties attached to the office which 
I shall deliver up to him, and it is to me a subject of self- 
gratulation that I shall transmit to him the government of 
the colony when its affairs are in a better condition than 
they have ever been." 

The Marquis de Vaudreuil, the successor of Bienville, 
arrived in New Orleans on the 10th day of May, 1743 and 
Bienville soon departed for France, never again to return 



96 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

to the colony which he so loved, and to the service of 
which he had given forty -four years of his life. When 
Bienville took his departure for France he was sixty- 
tive years of age, and his life was prolonged for a quarter 
of a century. He left, after forty- four years of service to 
the colony, with the respect, the confidence and the love of 
all the people, whose prayers, benedictions and good 
wishes attended him on his voyage. His successor seemed 
to have inherited the mania for mining that had character- 
ized Governor Cadillac, and he was constantly announcing 
the discovery of mines in various portions of the immense 
territory comprised within the colony of Louisiana. This 
delusion had long been the prevalent one in the councils 
of the French government, but "it is difficult," says 
Gayarre, "to imagine how the working of those mines 
could have been carried on with success in those days. 
The colony could not subsist on its own resources, and 
provisions had to be sent from the mother country," and 
at the very time De Vaudreuil was recommending the 
working of mines in Arkansas and Illinois, he wrote in 
1744, "if flour had not arrived by the Elephant the troops 
would have revolted on account of the want of food," and 
Gayarre well may ask, "in such circumstances how could 
several hundred workmen have been supported in the 
mines of Arkansas and Illinois ?" 

When De Vaudreuil arrived in New Orleans, the Chick- 
asaw Indians sent four of their chiefs, wich a French 
prisoner, to sue for peace. The Governor informed them 
that he would not treat with them save in concert with his 
allies, the Choctaws, to whom amends should be made for 
all injuries received at the hands of the Chickasaws, and 
that the latter "should drive away from their villages the 
English traders, who he said were the authors of all their 
misfortunes." The Chickasaw chiefs took time to com- 
municate these terms to their tribe, and in the beginning 
of 1744 the Chickasaws announced to the Governor that 
they would accept his terms, and "would dismiss the Eng- 
lish traders from their villages, if the French could supply 
them with all the goods, merchandise and ammunition they 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 113 

council of the the chiefs of the Chickasaw and Choctaw 
Indians to assemble at Mobile. The prime object of this 
council, on the part of the Governor, was to make safe the 
pathway for the immigrants who at this early period were 
steadily flowing into the colony of West Florida. These 
immigrants were compelled to pass through the territories 
occupied by Indians. Many families traveled by way 
of the Ohio, the Holstein, and the Tennessee rivers, and 
frequent murders had been committed by Indians of the 
Cherokee iribe. The details of the traffic between the En- 
glish traders and the Indians were arranged without diffi- 
culty, and regular prices for merchandise and peltries were 
agreed upon. 

While this immigration was flowing into the colony, the 
English traders were in the enjoyment of a large and lu- 
crative free trade on the Tombigbee and Mississippi rivers, 
very much to the annoyance and injury of their Span- 
ish neighbors. To show how close this neighborhood 
really was, may be instanced by the fact that on either 
side of the Iberville, a very narrow stream, there was a 
Spanish and an English fort. Fort Bute, with the English 
flag flying and bidding defiance to its foes, stood on the 
northern bank of the river, while a Spanish fort, flaunting 
the proud ensign of Spain, was immediately opposite. 
Near each fortification were large warehouses, owned sev- 
erally by opulent and enterprising English and Spanish 
merchants. Not a trace of fort, or vestige of stately ware- 
houses are visible to-day, and it would be hard to con- 
vince the dwellers around the mouth of the Iberville of 
the present day, that the story here told is not of "such 
stuff as dreams are made of." 

A very lively illicit trade in African slaves was carried'^ 
on at this time. The laws of Spain were contravened by \ 
British traders who brought the negroes from the coast of > 
Africa, took them direct to the Island of Jamaica, an En- 
glish possession, and thence to Pensacola, where they 
were transported by the lakes to Manshac, where, under 
the protection of the guns of Fort Bute and the British 
flag, these African slaves were sold to the planters in ex- 
change for indigo, tobacco, staves, peltries, etc. The 
8 



114 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

French, it will be remembered, first introduced this traffic 
into the colony, and when it passed into the possession of 
the English, the latter prosecuted it with tireless activity 
as long as they held possession of the country. "The 
trade subsequently," says Claiborne, "fell into the hands 
of New England dealers," from whom many of the most 
wealthy, educated and aristocratic families in Massachu- 
setts, Rhode Island and other New England States are de- 
scended, who are in the habit of claiming the "bluest 
blood," and the loftiest descent. Many of the wealthiest 
and most highly educated people in those States would be 
greatly shocked to-day at the mere suggestion that their 
lineage could be traced directly to the fountain source of 
vulgar and mercenary slave traders, the traffickers in hu- 
man flesh and immortal souls. 

A recent publication, the "Economic and Social History 
of New England, 1620-1789," by William B. Weeden, 
throws some light on the early views of our New England 
friends as to the subject ot slavery. The Puritans in the 
early colonial history of New England were not so averse 
to the system of African slavery as some of their descend- 
ants of the present day affect to be. In a word, they were 
not opposed to African slavery at all, so long as they were 
permitted to pose as masters of the bondmen. They were 
indifferent, too, to the color of their slaves, for they would 
as readily buy an Indian captive as an African stolen 
from his native jungles. It is learned from the volumes of 
Mr. Weeden, that as lofty personages as the "Winthrops, 
and other Puritan colonists, asked and received In- 
dian captives for slaves as freely as any partisan 
went for loot or plunder. Indians were enslaved on all 
sides as long as the local tribes lasted ; then Maine, then 
the Carolinas, and other districts, furnished captives for a 
never-ceasing demand for labor. Cotton Mather employed 
his black servant, showing as little regard for the rights of 
man as the Boston merchant, or the Narragansett planter." 
It is learned from the same author, that Peter Faneuil, the 
original builder of the hall which bears his name, and 
vhich has been called "the cradle of liberty" for more 
'han a century, was half owner of a slave ship which made 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 115 

regular voyages to the African coast, carrying a cargo of 
New England rum, to Ibe exchanged for African slaves. 

Mr. Weeden makes mention of a reputable "elder who 
sent ventures to the coast with uniform success," and who 
was in the habit of returning thanks, the hrst Sunday after 
the arrival of his slave ship in Newport, "that an over- 
ruling Providence had been pleased to bring to this land 
of freedom another cargo of benighted heathen to enjoy the 
blessings of a gospel dispensation^ 

In the African slave trade, as carried on by the early 
Puritans, rum was a prime factor, and Mr. Weeden men- 
tions a Captain Simeon Potter, who was engaged in the 
slave trade, as instructing the master of his vessel to 
•'make ye cheaf trade with the blacks, and little or none 
with the white people, if possible to be avoided. Worter 
ye rum as much as possible, and sell as much by the short 
mesuer as you can." And yet, the English, and our Puri- 
tanic brethren of New England, are wont, when they meet 
the people of the South, whether the meeting be in the 
market place, the church, or the synagogue, it matters not, 
they will surely indulge in the language of the original 
pharisee, "God, I thank Thee that I am holier" than any 
slaveholder that ever lived or died." 

In 1779, Governor Johnstone was recalled, but seemed to 
have lost no popularity by the re-call, but was soon 
elected to Parliament, where he was an active participant 
in the debates then indulged in on the American question. 

The Hon. Montfort Brown was the immediate successor 
of Governor Johnstone, but was very soon offered the posi- 
tion of Governor of the Bahamas, and as this was regarded 
as a promotion he accepted and left the province. In 1771, 
the Hon. Peter Chester was a,ppointed Governor, with 
Phillip Livingston as Secretary of the Colony. 

During the administration of Governor Chester, lands 
in the vicinity of Walnut Hills (now Vicksburg), Bayou 
Pierre (now Claiborne county), Natchez, Bayou Sara, Baton 
Rouge and Manchac, were in great demand, and this 
writer has seen bushels of those grants with immense seals 
of wax attached, nearly as large in circumference as a small 
breakfast plate, and measuring nearly an inch in thick- 



116 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

ness. Referring to this period, Claiborne has this to say in 
regard to a settlement in Adams county : 

"As far back as 1768, the king had issued an order, or . 
mandamus, to the (xovernor of West Florida, to have sur 
veyed and alloted to Amos Ogden, of New Jersey, a retired 
naval officer, twenty-live thousand acres in one single 
tract. In 1772, Captain Ogden sold nineteen thousand 
acres of his claim to Richard and Samuel Swayze, of New 
Jersey, at the rate of twenty cents per acre. They made a 
reconnoisance of the district and located the claim on the 
Homochitto river, in the present county of Adams. In 
the fall of the same year the two enterprising brothers, 
with their families and a number of their kindred and 
friends, sailed froiu Perth Amboy, for Pensacola, thence 
by the usual lake route to Manchac ; up the Mississippi 
and thence up the Homochitto to what is now known as 
Kingston. Samuel Swayze had been for a number of years 
a Congregational minister, and most of the adults who 
came with him were communicants. The faithful shepherd, 
as soon as he had provided a shelter for his wife and chil- 
dren, and planted corn for their bread, gathered up his 
fold and organized his society, undoubtedly the first Pro- 
testant pastor and congregation in the Natchez district. 
Under many drawbacks, growing out of Indian depreda- 
tions, and discouragements after the country passed into 
Spanish hands, this pious teacher and his kindred met 
together on the Sabbath, often in the swamps and cane- 
brakes, for di/ine service. In 1780 the Indians became so 
troublesome and exacting, that most of the settlers aban- 
doned their homes and moved to the vicinity of Natchez. 
The venerable pastor settled on the east bank of St. Cath- 
erine, on what was long afterwards known as ''Swayze's 
old held," on the left of the road from Washington to 
Natchez, and there he died in 1784. The Jersey settlement, 
begun in 1772 by men of intelligence, energy and high 
moral character, became prosperous and rich ; densely 
populated, highly cultivated — distinguished for its 
churches and schools — its hospitality and refinement. 
And, in the course of years, it sent its thrifty colonists into 
many counties, carrying with them the characteristics of 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 117 

the parent hive. The Farrars, Kings, Coreys, Montgom- 
erys, Pipes. Fowles, Colemans, Jones, Callenders, Fowlers, 
Luses, Griffins, Hopkins, Nobles, Ashfords, and many 
others in Mississippi and Louisiana, are descended in one 
branch or the other, from the brothers Swayze." 

About the same time, say 1772, a large grant of twenty 
thousand acres on the Bayou Pierre (Claiborne county), 
was awarded to Captain Thaddeus Lyman, a son of Gen. 
Phineas Lyman, in consideration of his father's distin- 
guished services in the military service of the king. In 
addition to his military qualifications General Lyman was 
one of the most distinguished lawyers and statesmen of 
Connecticut at that early period. 

"In December, 1773, General Lyman, his son. Captain 
Lyman, with a large party embarked at Stonington for 
New Orleans. Claiborne furnishes a long catalogue of 
the names of the Lyman party as follows, copied from 
the journal of Captain Phelps, one of the party : "Gen- 
neral Lyman, Thaddeus Lyman, with eight African slaves^ 
Sereno Dwight, Timothy Dwight, Harry Dwight, and 
three slaves, Moses and Isaac Shelby, Roger Harmon, 

Hanks, Seth Miller, Elisha and Josiah Flowers, Moses 

Drake, R. Winchell, Benjamin Barbour, Wolcott, 

Dana R. Magguett, Thomas Comstock, Weed, Capt. 

Silas Crane, Robert Patrick, Ashbel Bowen, John New- 
combe, James Dean, Abram Knapp, Gibs and Nathan Hull, 
James Stoddart, Thaddeus Bradley, Ephraim Case, Heza- 
kiah Rew, John Fisk, Elisha Hale, Timothy and David 
Hotchkiss, Hugh White, John Hyde, Wm. Silkrag, Jona- 
than Lyon, Wm. Davis, Thomas and James Lyman, 

Captain Ellsworth, Ira Whitman, Sage, Major Early, 

James Harmon, Elnathan Smith, Wm. Hurlburt, Elijah 
Leonard, Benjamin Day, Joseph Leonard, John Felt, Rev. 
Jedediah Smith, and Daniel Lewis. Senior." 

"Many of the descendants of these men are to be found 
to-day scattered through the States of Mississippi and 
Louisiana. Some of the party who sailed from Stonington 
had with them their wives and children, and a noteworthy 
fact is, that this party of Connecticut immigrants brought 
with them to Mississippi no less than eleven African slaves .'" 



118 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

The expedition of the Lyman party was a most unfortun- 
ate one. They embarked at New Orleans on barges to 
ascend the Mississippi river to the Bayou Pierre and Big 
Black, between which streams the Lyman grant was loca- 
ted. The voyage was in every way a disastrous one. Gen- 
eral Lyman, and his son. Captain Thaddeus, died on the 
voyage and were buried on the banks of the great river. 
The Reverend Mr. Smith, who had long been a Congrega- 
tional ^minister, in Greenville, Massachusetts, sickened 
and died when near Natchez, and was buried on the bluff 
near old Fort Rosalie. The remainder of the part}^ expe- 
rienced untold sufferings during their voyage up the Mis- 
sissippi and subsequently in their voyage up the Big Black 
river, on the south side of which the Lyman grant was 
located. The expedition was particularly fatal to the Ly- 
man family. Both the General and his son Thaddeus died 
while ascending the Mississippi river, and a year later the 
widow of General Lyman, with another son, accompanied 
by Major Timothy D wight, and others, sailed for New 
Orleans. They took passage on barges to ascend the Mis- 
sissippi, but were overtaken by sickness. Major D wight 
and a number of others died at Natchez, and the venerable 
Mrs. Lyman sickened and died soon after reaching the 
"promised land" of the Lyman grant. 

Among the immigrants who accompanied the Lyman 
party was Daniel Lewis, Sr., and wife, from whom are de- 
scended, according to Claiborne, "many distinguished and 
prominent people, including the Guions, Mellens, Peytons, 
Sages, and many other prominent families in Mississippi 
and Lousiaiia. Maternally of the same stock with Sir 
Wm. Pepperrel, General Prescott, of Bunker Hill ; Pres- 
cott, the historian ; Chief Justice Mellen, Sergeant S. Pren- 
tiss, Judge Parsons,*' etc. 

The years from 1774 to 1777 witnessed a large compara- 
tive iniiux of immigration to the Natchez district of coun- 
try. The Natchez district extended from the line of thirty- 
one degrees north latitude, to the mouth of the Yazoo 
river, including what are now the counties of Wilkinson, 
Adams, Jefferson, Claiborne and Warren, with a good de- 
gree of prosperity, and entire peace with the various In- 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 119 

dian tribes. In speaking of this period, Claiborne in- 
dulges in the following reflections : 

" Prom the moment the British flag was hoisted over 
their remote territories, the tide of immigration set in — 
an immigration very different from the French. The 
French had come, for the most part, in public vessels with 
free transportation, under special charters, with soldiers 
to protect them, and with a constant succession of ships, 
year after year, bringing reinforcements and supplies. 
They devoted themselves to exploration, to hunting and 
trapping, to the establishing of isolated posts, to a fruit- 
less search after silver and gold, starving on a soil capa- 
ble of supporting fifty millions of people. The French 
consisted either of the cadets of noble families who came to 
seek military distinction, or soldiers of fortune who fol- 
lowed the profession of arms and were capable of no other 
vocation; of a non-producing class, the civil employes of 
the company ; and a few peasants and Acadians, poor, 
ignorant and contented with their condition. The priests 
and the Canadians were the only energetic class. The 
first were devoted exclusively to the reclamation of the 
Indians ; the last were satisfied with their fowling pieces, 
and their pirogues. The very women that were sent out 
by the government to furnish wives for the colonists, in- 
stead of being selected from farms and villages, had been, 
for the most part, picked up in the streets of Paris, and 
from the houses of refuge. 

"The only inducement the British authorities held out for 
immigration was a liberal dispensation of land to those 
that had rendered service to the crown. No transportation 
was furnished ; few military posts were established ; no 
vain search after metals. Those that came, came at their 
own expense. They crossed the mountains to Pittsburg 
or to the head-waters of the Tennessee, where they often 
made a crop of corn and wheat the first season, and there 
built their boats and brought down with them to their 
point of destination, their families, their slaves and stock, 
and a year's supply of provisions. Or they came from 
Georgia and Carolina, the overland journey on pack-horses, 
through the Creek and Choctaw territories ; or by sea from 



120 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

more northern ports to Pensacola and New Orleans, and 
then by boats to their respective stations. Nine-tenths of 
them came to cultivate the soil ; they brought intelligence 
and capital ; and they embarked at once in the production 
of supplies for home consumption, and selected indigo as 
their crop for exportation. Tobacco was next introduced, 
and subsequently cotton. All the necessaries of life were 
in abundance and cheap. The corn-crib had no lock upon 
it. Bacon, beef, butter and poultry were plentiful. Or- 
chards were on a large scale, and the fruit better than at 
present, (a hundred years later). It was a common sight 
to see one hundred bee-hives in a farm yard, and both 
buck-wheat and clover were then grown especially for the 
benefit of these epicurean manufacturers. Beeswax and 
honey were articles of export. The medicinal herbs and 
roots, rhubarb, ginger, pimento, madder, safiron, hops, the 
opium poppy, and many others which are now purchased 
from the apothecary, were grown in the gardens. Many 
planters tanned their own leather. Shoes were almost 
always made on the plantation, either by a workman be- 
longing to the place, or by a man hired to do the work. 
Gentlemen and ladies were clad in homespun ; even the 
bridle reins, girths, and saddle cloths were made at home. 
"The war between the American Colonies and the mother 
country stimulated immigration. Many families of wealth 
and distinction, and who were either loyal in sentiment or 
desired to be neutral, sought an asylum in West Florida. 
Settlements on the Bayou Pierre, Big Black and the Wal- 
nut Hills multiplied. The majority of those who came 
were men of intelligence and character. Bad men, out- 
laws and fugitives from justice, came likewise, but they 
were outnumbered and restrained by the better class, and 
there was generally peace, order and security for life and 
property. The land owners were, for the most part, edu- 
cated men ; many of them had held commissions in the 
British and provincial army ; others had held civil offices 
under the Crown or the Colonies, and had been accus- 
tomed to the administration of the laws of England, now, 
and for ages past, the great security of social order and 
public liberty. Such a population is a guaranty against 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 121 

anarchy and mob rule, and though remote from the pro- 
vincial government of Pensacola, and no court of record 
nearer, the Natchez district was proverbial for its immunity 
from crimes and criminals. There is no British record of 
judicial proceedings in the Natchez district ; and as there 
was considerable wealth in land, slaves, cattle and mer- 
chandise, the good order that prevailed may be fairly as- 
cribed to the superior character of the early immigration. 
The intelligent and cultivated class predominated, and 
gave tone to the community." 

Early in the spring of 1778, one James Willing, a Phila- 
delphianof good family, but of licentious habits, who had 
previously been a merchant in Natchez, visited the Conti- 
nental Congress then in session at Lancaster, Pennsylvania, 
with the view of being authorized by Congress to visit 
the Natchez district. Willing represented that it was 
highly important to secure the neutrality of the people 
residing on the eastern bank of the Mississippi, from the 
mouth of the Yazoo to the line of 31 degrees of north lati- 
tude. The colonies, then engaged in a tremendous struggle 
with the Crown of England, were in sore distress. New 
York and Philadelphia were in possession of the British 
forces. General Washington had passed through the ter- 
rible winter at Valley Forge. His soldiers were ragged, 
shoeless and almost starving. The affairs of the colonies 
were at the lowest ebb, and despair was fast settling upon 
the minds and hearts of the people. Willing was a man 
of education, tine manners, of striking appearance, and 
was wonderfully plausible and specious. His representa- 
tions of the importance of securing the neutrality of the 
inhabitants of the Natchez country were eagerly listened 
to by Congress, but when he assured the governing author- 
ities, that after securing the neutrality of the people in the 
Natchez district, he would be enabled to descend the Mis- 
sissippi to New Orleans in safety, and there purchase 
from the Spanish merchants a large supply of ammunition, 
so sorely needed by the colonial army, and transport it up 
the Mississippi and the Ohio rivers to Fort Pitt, (now Pitts- 
burg), the tempting bait was at once swallowed, and the 
authority asked for was promptly granted. Willing de- 



122 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

p arted on his mission immediately, and a few weeks later 
he arrived at the mouth of Big Black river with a small 
armed party. He at once visited the settlements, and sent 
messages to the settlers on the Bayou Pierre to meet him 
on a given day. More than a hundred men assembled on 
the day named, and cheerfully took the oath of neutrality 
administered by Willing. He next proceeded to Natchez 
where he was warmly welcomed as a former citizen and a 
peacemaker. The citizens very generally took the pre- 
scribed oath and were pleased with his specious utterances. 
From Natchez he repaired to Ellis' Cliffs, where he landed 
at night and sent an armed party to the residence of Col. 
Anthony Hutchins, some three miles from the river. Col. 
Hutchins was a prominent, influential and active citizen of 
the district, and probably no man within its limits exer- 
cised greater influence. He had served as an officer in the 
British army, was a gentleman of education and great 
force ol character, and he had not taken the oath of neu- 
trality, by reason of his inability to travel to Natchez, 
being confined to his bed by illness. He sent his sons, 
however, to take the desired oath, with the assurance that 
he approved, and would take it himself at the earliest 
opportunity. 

Arrived at the home of Col. Hutchins, Willing's ruffians 
proceeded to insult the family, plunder the house of plate, 
money and other valuables, carry off twelve valuable negro 
men, and concluded by dragging Col. Hutchins from a bed 
of sickness, and holding him a close prisoner. Other par- 
ties sent out by Willing plundered and arrested several 
other planters. These, however, were released on taking 
the required oath, but, adds Claiborne, "Ae refused to re- 
turn tlie property he had seized. At Manchac, on his way 
down, he surprised an English merchantman at anchor, 
which he carried to New Orleans and sold." Sir William 
Dunbar, in a private journal kept by him, describes fully, 
and at some length the various outrages perpetrated by 
Willing and his armed scoundrels. He gives an account 
of his robbery of various houses, burning some, and in 
other cases wantonly killing the stock of the planters. 
Sir William took the precaution of removing his negroes 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 128 

to a place of safety, and thus describes the plunder of his 
own house : "The houses of the British gentlemen on the 
English side (of the line) were plundered ; and among the 
Test mine ivas robbed of everything tliat could be carried 
away, all my ivearing apparel, bed and table linen ; not 
a shirt was left in the house, blankets, pieces of cloth, sugar, 
silver-ioare ; in short all was fish that came in their net. 
They destroyed also a considerable quantity of bottled 
wine, though they carried away no liquor ; the party 
which robbed my house landed at Francis' immediately 
below ; the orders given by their head were to drive down 
my negroes, and if opposed by any one to "shoot 'em 
down." They returned with information that the negroes 
were gone, but that much property remained in the house, 
which they were ordered to carry away, and accordingly 
made three or four trips, carrying at each time a blanket 
lull of the ware above mentioned. On the whole, I was 
plundered of two hundred pounds sterling value. Two 
boats under the command of Harrison and flat-nosed 
Elliott, at length reached Baton Rouge, and surprised 
Messrs. Williams, Watts and Dicas, made them prisoners 
with all their negroes, notwithstanding that these gentle- 
men had had every assurance of protection and safety, and 
in consequence taken oaths of neutrality. They were all 
brought to town soon after my arrival, and a public ven- 
due soon commenced of the plundered, effects y 

The outrages perpetrated by Willing and his freebooters, 
here recited, will vividly recall the memory of similar 
wrongs committed by a ruffian soldiery, during the period 
of reconstruction in Mississippi, against helpless, defence- 
less men, women and children. 

The experience the people of the Natchez district had 
had with Willing and his robbers induced them to apply 
to the Governor of the Province of West Florida at Pen- 
sacola, to place a garrison in Fort Panmure. In response 
to this demand one Captain Michael Jackson, with a com- 
pany of infantry, was soon dispatched to Natchez and 
took possession of Fort Panmure. The people learned, 
immediately after the arrival of Jackson, and his ragga- 
muffins, that they had gained nothing in the way of pro- 



124 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

tection to life, property or public order. Jackson and his 
men were soon found to be of the same type of villains of 
Willing and his buccaneers, and caused a great amount 
of annoyance to the quiet, orderly and law-abiding citi- 
zens. Captain Jackson having excited numerous dis- 
orders, hearing that Captain Foster had been ordered to 
supercede him, decamped suddenly and secretly with a 
squad of the most vicious and depraved of his soldiers, 
''' carrying with liim all the portable property he could lay 
his hands on. The officers and men who had acted with 
Jackson, were sent under guard to Pensacola, where sev- 
eral were ordered to be shot." 

The rule of the English in the province of West Florida, 
was now drawing rapidly to a close. These bold Britons 
had never attempted to conciliate their Spanish neighbors 
below the Manchac ; in fact, conciliation had never been 
any part of English policy. The rule of force, aggression 
and domination, has marked the course of the English gov- 
ernment in its intercourse with other peoples, from the 
days of the commonwealth, under the iron hand of Oliver 
Cromwell, the Puritan, to the present hour. Aggressive 
and domineering in all their instincts, the English people, 
through many centuries, have well earned the appellation 
they have long proudly worn, of "the all-conquering race." 

The British war-ships were in the habit of sailing past 
New Orleans, at the time of which we write, with the red 
cross of St. George, haughtily and vauntingly displayed, 
while their merchant vessels were constantly anchored 
just above the city, where a large and profitable trade was 
daily carried on, without paying the license tax demanded 
of other traders, greatly to the annoyance and injury of 
the Spanish traders, and a constant cause of irritation to 
the Spanish authorities. 

In 1779 England was at war with France on account of 
the "aid, countenance and comfort" — to use a phrase much 
in vogue nearly a century later in this country — extended 
to the struggling colonists of America in their contest 
with Great Britain ; the King of Spain attempted to inter- 
pose in favor of his cousin, his most Christian Majesty of 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 125 

France, but his overtures having been grossly and scorn- 
fully rejected, Spain at once declared war on England, as 
Claiborne puts it pithily, "on the point of honor." 

The result of this declaration of war was soon visible in 
America, and especially in the province of West Florida, 
which at that time comprised a considerable portion of the 
present State of Mississippi. Claiborne thus describes the 
result of the action of Governor Galvez, the Spanish Gov- 
ernor of Louisiana, or as it was then called the "Island of 
Orleans :" 

"The ablest and most active man that ever swayed Lou- 
isiana, Don Bernardo de Galvez, was then civil and mili- 
tary Governor. He immediately proposed to expel the En- 
glish from Florida, but the old fogies in his cabildo, or 
council, recommended delay. Paying little heed to their 
sugestions, the General proceeded with his arrangements, 
and on the 7th of September attacked and stormed Fort 
Bute, at Manchac. With some fifteen hundred men he ad- 
vanced rapidly up the river to Baton Rouge, a post com- 
manded by Lieutenant- Colonel Dickson, of the 16th regi- 
ment, with a garrison of four hundred regulars and one 
hundred and fifty militia of the country, with abundant 
supplies. One hundred and twenty of the garrison were 
on the sick list. Galvez opened his batteries of heavy ar- 
tillery, and after a brisk fire of three hours, the British 
commandant displayed a white flag and proposed to capit- 
ulate. He was permitted, with his command, to retire to 
Pensacola, but he surrendered all the British posts, in- 
eluding Baton Rouge, Fort Panmure, Fort Bute, the posts 
on the Amite and Thompson's Creek, and the entire dis- 
trict of Natchez. 

Leaving Col. Grandpre in command at Natchez, Galvez 
returned to New Orleans, and in January. 1780, set out to 
reduce Mobile. He encountered a huixicane which in- 
flicted much damage upon his transports, and retarded his 
operations. But on the 10th of March he entered Mobile 
harbor, and on the 14th opened six batteries on Fort Char- 
lotte. Seeing a serious break in his works, and the Span- 
iards preparing for an assault, the commandant capitu- 
lated and surrendered Mobile and the whole country from 



126 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

the Perdido to the Pearl. The next object of Galvez was 
Pensacola, the seat of government of West Florida. 
Knowing the strength of its garrison and fortifications, he 
went to Havana and obtained reinforcements and heavy 
artillery. His forces from New Orleans were transported 
to the Perdido, and thence marched to Pensacola, where 
he was waiting for them with a formidable fleet, and a 
regiment of Spanish infantry. Galvez opened the bom- 
bardment from his ships and land batteries April 2d, 1781, 
and kept it up, with little intermission, for a month. The 
garrison made a stubborn resistance, and it is doubtful 
Avhat would have been the issue, but on the 9th of May 
the magazine in the fort exploded, and a capitulation be- 
came inevitable. General Campbell surrendered the gar- 
rison as prisoners of war, and with it the entire province 
of West Florida, after an occupancy of nineteen years." 

Thus the territory embraced within the limits of the 
present State of Mississippi, in less than a quarter of a 
century had acknowledged the sovereignty, and paid the 
tribute of obedience to three several foreign masters, and 
in that short period of time had owed allegiance to the 
flags of the three then most powerful nations of the world. 

Immediately following the surrender of Pensacola, atrong 
garrisons of Spanish, soldiers, then renowned the world 
over for courage and discipline, occupied Pensacola, Mo- 
bile, Baton Rouge, Manchac, Natchez, Nogales, (now Vicks- 
burg,) and other points, "all under the control," says Clai- 
borne, "of the ablest soldier and administratoi" of his 
times." 

Thus passed away forever the rule of England over the 
territory of Mississippi, to be followed in less than twelve 
months by the defeat and surrender of Lord Cornwallis, 
and the British army at Yorktown, and the consequent 
loss of her colonies on the continent of North America. 
This left England in possession of the Canadas alone. She 
still -held, and holds to this day, the Dominion of Canada, 
with the almost impregnable fortress of Quebec, which hag 
been illustrated by the valor of three great nations, and 
consecrated with the blood of Montcalm, Wolfe and Mont- 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 127 

gomery, three representative heroes of France, England 
and America. 

The Royal Governors of the English Province, were : 

First, Captain George Johnstone, of the Royal Navy. 

Second, the Honorable Montford Brown. 

Third, the Honorable Peter Chester. 

The seat of the Provincial government was held at Pen- 
sacola during the entire occupancy of the English. 



CHAPTER VI. 



MISSISSIPPI AS A SPANISH PROVINCE, 
FROM 1781 TO 1798. 

AN abortive attempt was made by the British subjects 
and American citizens, who preferred the rule of Eng- 
land to that of France or Spain, in April, 1782, to recapture 
Fort Panmure, at Natchez. These gentlemen reposed great 
confidence in English valor, and really believed British 
soldiers were invincible. Pensacola was a long distance 
from Natchez, with a vast wilderness intervening, and 
knowing that Governor Galvez had sailed for Pensacola, 
with the view of reducing that stronghold, determined to 
create a diversion in favor of General Campbell, the officer 
in command there. Having dispatched a courier to Gen- 
eral Campbell, informing him of their purpose, the General 
wrote them to seize and hold Fort Panmure, and he would 
send troops to support them. Rumors were abroad, too, 
of the arrival of an English fleet at Pensacola, with large 
reinforcements for the English. These gentlemen suc- 
ceeded in obtaining a surrender of Fort Panmure by a ruse, 
with the stipulation that the garrison should march to 
Baton Rouge under the escort of Captain Winfree and a 
guard. The victors marched in, and the flag of England 
waved once more over the ramparts of Fort Panmure. The 
elation of the insurgents, however, was of brief duration, 
and their triumph must evanescent. Intelligence was soon 
received of the surrender of Pensacola, with the entire prov- 
ince of West Florida, ard the reported English fleet with 
reinforcements proved to be a Spanish fleet with strong 
reinforcements for the Spaniards. The revulsion from 
triumph to dispair was instantaneous. The bold leaders 
of the revolt looked after their safety by immediate flight. 
The most of them had families, and many of them possessed 
large and valuable property. There was no time to be 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 129 

lost. These men remembered the harsh rule of the second 
Spanish Governor, O'Reilly, in New Orleans, in dealing 
with some French malcontents, and they fled the country 
precipitately, taking with them their families as best they 
could. Pew incidents in the early years of Mississippi 
caused more suffering or distress than the flight of the 
men and w^omen of that day, consequent upon the foolish 
and abortive attempt to resist the power of Spain. Col. 
Claiborne gives the following pathetic account of the suffer- 
ings of a large number of the fugitives : 

"A more precipitate and distressing exodus never oc- 
curred. Leaving their homes, which they had made com- 
fortable by severe toil, their property, which had been 
accumulated by patient industry ; with no transportation 
but a few pack-horses, with no luggage but their blankets 
and some scanty stores, they gathered their wives and 
children and struck into the wildernes. Fearful of pur- 
suit, fearful of ambush, dogged by famine, tortured by 
thirst, exposed to every vicissitude of weather, weakened 
by disease, more than decimated by death, the women and 
children dying every day, this terrible journey makes the 
darkest page of our record. But the courage and perse- 
verance they evinced, the uncomplaining patience and for- 
titude of refined and delicate women, at that period of suf- 
fering and peril, shed a glow of sunshine over the story, 
and their descendants, still numerous in Mississippi, will 
read it with mingled pity and admiration. 

"Among these fugitives were the Lymans, Dwights, and 
many of the most cultured families of Massachusetts and 
Connecticut. The supplies they took with them were soon 
consumed, and then they lived on roots, herbs, and what- 
ever they could gather in their flight. Some of the Indians 
they fell in with seized their pack-horses ; others, more 
humane, would divide with them their meat and corn. 
Having broken the only compass in their possession, they 
traveled by the sun and stars. They crossed the numer- 
ous rivers on their route on rude rafts bound together with 
vines. When they got to Bayou Pierre it was very high, 
with a fierce current, and to cross it on a frail raft was too 
hazardous. They tried various expedients and failed, and 
9 



130 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

at last most of the men threw themselves oq the ground i 
and declared they might as well die there, unless provi- 
dence opened a way to cross over. One man only insisted 
that on the opposite shore, in all probability, Indian boats 
were secreted, and that if one or more would join him 
they would attempt to swim their pack-horses and make 
a search. No one seconded the proposal, until Mrs. 
Dwight said that she would venture. Her husband, roused 
by her intrepidity, declared that he would make the trip, 
but his wife insisted on accompanying them, and all three 
plunged into the turbid and rapid stream. They were 
swept down by the violence of the current, and were given 
up for lost, but providentially they struck a reef where 
the water was shallow, and finally reached the shore. After 
a long search they found an old Indian pirogue, full of 
cracks and seams which they caulked by tearing up a por- 
tion of their ragged garments, and then, by constantly 
bailing, the travelers contrived to get over three at a time 
"At one point on the journey, when, owing to cloudy 
weather, they had not been able to regulate their course, 
and had wandered into the prairies, they had been thirty- 
six hours without water. The pangs of hunger were hard to 
bear, but their thirst became intolerable. On the morning of 
the second day, perceiving no sign, they halted, leaving 
Mrs. Dwight and two others in the camp, and scattered in 
different directions in searcli of water. Late in the after- 
noon, one at a time, these parties came in, broken down, 
with fatigue, unsuccessful and despairing. To press for- 
ward, to remain, or to retrace their footsteps, either seemed 
inevitable death. The heroic woman, who had led the way 
across the swollen stream, now staggered to her feet and 
said: " Christians never despair. I will proceed onward 
in the search and not stop as long as my limbs will sup- 
port me." Followed by two men and two women, in the 
course of an hour, when they were nearly exhausted, she 
paused at a spot where the grass was luxuriant and the 
soil spongy. " Here," said she, " we must find water or 
die.' By digging with their hands and sharp bits of wood, 
the water slowly oozed up, and thus, a second time the 
whole company was saved by the faith and fortitude of 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 131 

one feeble woman. At length, naked and emaciated from 
sickness and famine, the few survivors reached Savannah. 
Doctor Dwight and his wife returned to Northampton, 
Massachusetts. He was afterwards lost on a voyage to 
Nova Scotia, and the heroic woman who had resisted 
suffering and inspired the despairing, succumbed under the 
blow. Such is the nature of those we love best. Endur- 
ing physical ills, reverses of fortune, privation and dan- 
ger with more than the patience and fortitude of men, but 
fading and sinking under the slightest wound to their 
affections and their faith." 

It is creditable to the generosity and magnanimity of the 
Spanish authorities, to learn that all the fugitives that sur- 
vived their sufferings were permitted to return, and where 
their property had been sold, the sales were declared in- 
valid, and the property was returned to the former and 
rightful owners. 

While the first impetus was given to immigration intb 
the Colony of Mississippi, under English rule, it steadiw 
increased under Spanish domination. For this increase of 
immigration there were obvious reasons. The genial cli- 
mate of the country, together with the boundless fertility 
of its soil, furnished great attractions to the industrious 
and enterprising immigrant from other colonies, and the 
wTetched condition of the colonists, who had just emerged 
successfully, it is true, from a seven years struggle with 
one of the greatest powers on earth, furnished additional 
inducements to immigrate to the New Eldorado on the 
margin of the great river. In addition, the mildness of 
the Spanish rule in Mississippi should not be forgotten. 
From the days of Galvez, down to the hour when Gov- 
ernor Gayoso retired under treaty stipulations, surren- 
dering every foot of her soil to the United States, the rule of 
Spain was mild, forbearing and generous. The Spaniards 
were Catholics, of course, but members of the Protestant 
churches were allowed to worship God after their own fash- 
ion, with as much freedom as is allowed to any worship- 
pers of Almighty God in any quarter of the United States 
to-day. 

Grants of land were made with great liberality, and at 



132 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

trifling expense to the grantee. Claiborne, referring to 
this period of our history, and to the mild rule of the 
Spanish Governors, has this to say of Don Estevan Miro, 
one of the most popular Spanish rulers of Mississippi a 
century ago : 

"During his administration, the excitement of the insur- 
rection having subsided, the immigration of Americans 
into the district was renewed. The clemency of the Span- 
ish authorities, the easy terms on which they granted 
lands, the exemptions from taxes and from military ser- 
vice, their interposition to protect the honest debtor from 
usurers and alien creditors, the unrivaled fertility of the 
country, and the free access to New Orleans permitted to 
settlers, were powerful inducements to colonization. 

"The immigration, as we have seen under British rule, 
consisted for the most part of those who sought this re- 
mote retreat to escape the calamities of civil war. Many 
of these were Highlanders from North Carolina. After 
the fatal battle of Culloden, in 1745, large numbers of the 
followers of the Stuarts left their country and settled 
along the Cape Fear river, and gradually spread over the 
counties of Bladen, Anson, Moore, Richmond, Robeson 
and Sampson. Remembering the horrors of their own 
rebellion, and having then preserved their lives by taking 
an oath of allegiance to the house of Hanover, they now 
generally sided with the Crown. The Scotch-Irish, con- 
sisting of emigrants from the north of Ireland, descend- 
ants of Scotch parents, intermarried with the Irish, were 
numerous in Pennsylvania, Virginia and North Carolina, 
in 1775, and generally took up arms for the colonies, but 
many of them, finding their neighbors and friends divided, 
and the feeling becoming more vindictive every day, fol- 
lowed the British authorities into Florida, and were among 
the earliest and most valuable settlers in the Natchez dis- 
trict. The immigrants who came to the Natchez after the 
Spaniards regained West Florida in 1782, came chiefly to 
better their fortunes, and with the conviction that the 
United States had a just claim to the country, and would 
assert it. The Greens, Wests, Montgomerys, and others, 
were the leaders of this class. Thev broug-ht with them 



HISTOKY OF MISSISSIPPI. 133 

culture, social position, enterprise and considerable wealth, 
and these elements controlled and characterized the com- 
munity. At no period since has there been better order and 
fewer crimes. The Spanish authorities had no disposition 
to be severe, nor did they manifest any desire to be so. 
The successive commandants at Natchez, and the Governor- 
General of Louisiana, were accomplished gentlemen, 
trained to arms, stately but courteous, punctilious, fond of 
etiquette and pomp, but hospitable, generous and forbear- 
ing. It was a community of ProtesUnts under a strictly 
Catholic dynasty, in an age of intolerance. But here there 
was little persecution, no proscription, no civil distinctions 
made, and never any interference, except in one or two in- 
stances, when the preservation of public order was impera- 
tive. Sir William Dunbar, a British subject, brought up 
in the discipline of the Scottish Presbyterian church, who 
settled at Baton Rouge in 1775, and had every opportunity 
of observation, in the private journal which he kept, notes 
little interference with the rights of conscience, and tes- 
tifies to the impartial administration of justice. 'British 
property,' he writes, 'is in perfect security. An English- 
man may come here and recover his debts, and obtain jus- 
tice as soon as in Westminister Hall.' " "This is," says 
Claiborne, 'a remarkable tribute to the integrity of the 
Spanish officers. Debts were promptly collected. The 
initial process was by petition setting forth the amount of 
the claim and the consideration, and all the circumstances, 
whereupon an order issued to the party to appear on a cer- 
tain day, and arUtrators, usually the best men in the com- 
munity, were designated by the commandant to decide the 
matter, a tribunal preferable to the jury system, as it is 
now conducted, when the highest rights of property, de- 
pending on intricate questions of law, are submitted to 
men, often notoriously ignorant and corrupt, picked up in 
the grog-shops around the court-house." 

During the administration of Governor Miro, the follow- 
ing decree was issued : 

"It is declared that what is called lawful interest, in the 
stipulations between the inhabitants of Natchez and their 
creditors, is to be understood at the rate of five per centum 



134 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

only, and the same, by any delay in the payment thereof, 
shall not be converted into principal, and interest be paid 
upon interest, because that would be manifest usury. The 
accounts of the said inhabitants shall be settled upon this 
principle, abating such as have been previously paid at a 
higher rate than is here prescribed. And for the due per- 
formance of this provision, the parties interested are to 
be furnished with authenticated transcripts hereof, on ap- 
plication." 

The legal rate of interest in Mississippi to-day is six per 
centum, while by contract as much as ten per cent, may 
be collected by law, or double the amount fixed by Gov- 
ernor Miro, more than one hundred years ago. Judging 
by this, no progress has been made in a hundred or more 
years, unless it has been made in what the late Henry S. 
Foote described as "advancing by a retrograde movement," 
in his celebrated "bout" with Col. Benton, forty years ago 
on the floor of the United States Senate. 

The first crop raised by the planters of Mississippi for 
exportation was tobacco. On the virgin lands of the 
country the yield was from fifteen hundred to two thous- 
and pounds to the acre. In order to promote the cultiva- 
tion of tobacco in his colony, the king of Spain had agreed 
to purchase all the tobacco produced at the rate of ten 
dollars per hundred weight, but a visit of General James 
Wilkinson, of the United States army, to Governor Miro, 
in 1787, had favorably brought to the notice of the Spanish 
government, the tobacco produced in Kentucky and Ten- 
nessee, and this induced the king of Spain to annul his offer 
to the planters ot his own colony to purchase their crops. 
This produced considerable disappointment and excitement 
and finally led to the abandonment of the cultivation of 
tobacco, and the planters turned their attention to the pro- 
duction of indigo. This article usually commanded from 
a dollar and a half to two dollars and a half a pound, and 
was regarded as a remunerative crop until 1795, when it 
was generally abandoned, the reason for this being that it 
was assailed by a small insect that devoured the leaves 
and buds and finally destroyed the plant. 

The planters next turned^ their attention to the cultiva- 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 135 

tiop of cotton. The first mention of the cotton plant in 
Mississippi, was made by Charlevoix, who saw some plants 
growing in a garden at Natchez in 1722. Bienville also 
wrote in 1735 that cotton grew well on the Mississippi, 
while Vaudreuil, in 1746, informed his government that 
'^cotton had been received in New Orleans from the Uli- 
noisy It is well to remember that the French called 
everything above the mouth of the Yazoo, on the west of 
the great river, "the Illinois." It is quite probable that 
the cotton referred to by Governor Vaudreuil was pro- 
duced in the vicinity of "Arkansas Post," where a settle- 
ment was early made by the French. 

There was considerable difficulty experienced by the 
early cotton planters in regard to seed, which were first 
obtained from the Island of Jamaica and from Georgia. 
These were black seed producing a fine silken fiber and 
good staple. These seed continued to be planted until 
1811, when the plant was attacked by rot, and in a few 
years became very destructive, sometimes destroying more 
than half of the crop. The next seed were obtained from 
the Cumberland Valley, in Tennessee. These were of the 
green seed variety, and produced a short staple, coarse 
fibred, inferior cotton. The next variety produced was 
from seed brought from Mexico, which subsequently be- 
came known as the Petit Gulf seed, which was very suc- 
cessfully cultivated on the cane hills of Jefferson county, 
in the rear of the Petit Gulf, now known as Rodney. 
These seed were the germs of all the known varieties of 
the present day, and were undeniably the foundation of 
the magnificent wealth and progress of the cotton culture 
in Mississippi and her sister States in the cotton produc- 
ing zone. 

Speaking of the introduction of the Mexican cotton seed 
into Mississippi, Mr. B. L. C. Wailes, the State Geologist 
at that period, in his report published in 1854, says : 

"The Mexican seed is believed to have been introduced 
by the late Walter Burling, of Natchez. It is related by 
some of our older citizens, who were well acquainted with 
him and the facts, that when in the City of Mexico, where 
he was sent by Gen. Wilkinson, in 1806, on a mission con- 



136 HISTORY OK MISSISSIPPI. 

nected with a threatened rupture between the two coun- 
tries, he dined at the table of the Viceroy, and in the 
course of conversation on the products of the country, he 
requested permission to import some of the Mexican cot- 
ton seed, a request which was not granted, on the ground 
that it was forbidden by the Spanish government. But the 
Viceroy, over his wine, sportively accorded his free per- 
mission to take home with him as many Mexican dolls as 
he might fancy — a permission well understood, and which 
in the same vein was as freely accepted. The stwffing of 
these dolls was understood to have been cotton seed .^" 

Mr. Wailes, in his observations on the cotton culture of 
the State, has this to say : 

"When and from whence the plant was lirst introduced 
into Mississippi, is not certainly known. Most probably 
by the early French colonists from San Domingo. It would 
seem, indeed, that its cultivation here, and in Louisiana, on 
a small scale for domestic purposes, preceded that of 
Georgia." 

The invention of the cotton gin by Whitney, in 1794, 
gave a great and immediate impulse to the production of 
cotton in the Southern States. Prior to the invention of 
Whitney, the process of separating the seed from the 
fleecy staple, was slow and tedious, nothing less than the 
use of the fingers in picking the fibre from the seed, 
usually at night, around the fireside by members of the 
planter's family. In 1796, an ingenious mechanic, named 
David Greenleaf, commenced the construction of cotton- 
gin stands in the neighborhood of Natchez. In 1801, 
Isaac Nerson was manufacturing gin stands on Pine Ridge, 
in Adams county. 

In 1807 Eleazer Carver was manufacturing gin stands at 
Washington, in Adams county, then the capital of the 
Territorial Government of Mississippi. He subsequently 
removed to Bridgewater, Massachusetts, where he engaged 
extensively in the manufacture of gin-stands, and to-day 
his name and fame are known wherever cotton is grown. 
He was the inventor of, and first introduced the use of 
grates in the cotton gin. "Cotton," Claiborne tells us, 
"was at first put up in long bags, as is still practiced with 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 137 

Sea Island cotton. The rude, wooden box or press, worked 
by levers, was next employed. The iirst screw press was 
made in Philadelphia for Sir William Danbar, in 1801, 
after a model sent by him to Mr. John Ross. Its cost was 
over $1,000. On its receipt he wrote to his correspondent : 
''I shall endeavor to indemnifj'^ myself for the cost by 
making cotton seed oil ! It will probably be of a grade 
between the drying and fat oils, resembling that made 
from linseed in color and tenacity, but less drying. 
Where shall a market be found for such an oil ?" 

"This," continues Claiborne, "is the first suggestion of 
that product which has now become a great article of com- 
merce." It is gratifying to know that this great and 
constantly increasing industry, which now adds annually 
fully fifty millions of dollars to the wealth of the cotton 
producing States, had its birth in the brain of a Missis- 
sippi cotton planter ; a man of education, character, sagac- 
ity and enterprise, who devoted the best years of his life 
to the prosperity of Mississippi, and whose ashes now re- 
pose in the soil of the State. 

In connection with the early production of cotton in 
this State, the following from Claiborne is not without in- 
terest, as exhibiting the character of the paper currency 
in vogue in the early years of the nineteenth century : 

"It was the ambition of every planter to have his own 
gin, but for the accommodation of the community gener- 
ally, there were numerous public gins. The proprietor 
gave the planter a receipt specifying the amount of cotton 
delivered, and these receipts, by usage at first, and after- 
wards by law, became the paper currency of the country, 
and were received in payment of all dues, the only paper 
currency we have ever had here with a substantial basis !" 

The Spanish authorities were greatly disturbed by the 
action of the Georgia Legislature in the year 1785, in es- 
tablishing the county of "Bourbon" in what Georgia 
claimed to be her territory. This county of Bourbon was 
established with the following well defined boundaries : 
"Beginning at the mouth of the Yazoo river, where it 
empties into the Mississippi river, thence by a line to be 
drawn along the middle of the said river until it shall inter- 



138 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

sect the northern-most part of the thirty-first degree of 
north latitude ; south by a line to be drawn due east 
from the determination of the line last mentioned in the 
latitude of thirty-one degrees north of the equator as far 
as the lands reach, which, in that district have, at any 
time, been relinquished by the Indians ; thence along the 
line of said relinquishment to the said river Yazoo ; thence 
down the said river to the beginning ; and the said county 
shall comprehend and include all lands and waters within 
the said description." 

This act of the Georgia Legislature also provided for 
the opening of a land office in the disputed district, for 
the sale of land at a rate not exceeding twenty-five cents 
an acre. 

This county of Bourbon comprehended all the territory 
embraced in the present counties of Warren, Claiborne, 
Jefferson, Adams, Franklin and Wilkinson. Fourteen 
magistrates for the county were appointed, and Abner 
Green, Esq., a native of Virginia, a man of high and hon- 
orable character, a gentleman of education and refinement, 
was appointed register of probates. Col. Claiborne, in 
speaking of these appointments of magistrates and regis- 
ter of probates, has this to say of them : 

"All the appointees were representative men — men of 
property. Many of them were well educated immigrants 
from Virginia, North Carolina and Georgia. The list em- 
braced gentlemen who fought under the Continental flag 
during the war just closed, and likewise of pronounced 
loyalists who would not serve against the king, but had 
sought new homes in these remote districts rather than 
take up arms against their countrymen." 

The descendants of these officers of the county of Bour- 
bon are numerous, highly respected, and are performing 
all of the duties of good citizens in the States of Missis- 
sippi, Texas and Louisiana to-day. Many of them did 
good service in behalf of their native State during the 
recent terrible war between the States. 

The autumn of the year 1790 was distinguished by the 
arrival at Natchez, in the Spanish province of Mississippi, 
pf Mrs. Rachael Robards, a lady who was destined to 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 139 

Teach the highest social position, as the wife of General 
Andrew Jackson, one of the most distinguished military 
chieftains this country ever produced, who was subse- 
quently elected to the presidency of the United States in 
1828, and re-elected by the people, after a most animated 
contest, in 1832. The administration of General Jackson, 
extending through a period of eight years, was one of the 
most brilliant and remarkable that has ever graced the 
annals of the country. 

Mrs. Robards was the daughter of Col. John Donaldson, 
a prominent citizen of Tennessee, of which territory she 
was a native. Miss Donaldson was married at an early 
age to Mr. Robards, a young Virginian, a lawyer by pro- 
fession, and a young man of good family, but he was in- 
sanely jealous of the most ordinary courtesies paid by 
other gentlemen to his young and handsome wife. An- 
drew Jackson chanced to become an inmate of the board- 
ing house in Nashville, where Mr. Robards and his wife 
were domiciled, and it soon dawned upon him that Ro- 
bards had become jealous of his attentions to his wife. 
With the frankness and promptitude which was the lead- 
ing characteristic of his whole life, Jackson sought an- 
other boarding house, but the demon jealousy, once 
aroused in the human heart, dwells there for all time. 
After a year or two of marital infelicity, Mr. Robards, in 
a moment of passion, filed an application for a divorce, 
abandoned his young and handsome wife, and returned to 
Virginia, This absence was a protracted one, but finally 
Mrs. Robards was startled by the intelligence, which 
seemed to be known to everybody, that her husband in- 
tended to return to Nashville for the purpose of "haunting 
her" and making her life imtolerable. Mrs. Robards had 
some friends in the vicinity of Natchez whom she deter- 
mined to visit, thus putting a long distance between her- 
self and her tormentor. 

Col. Stark, a gentleman venerable in years, and distin- 
guished for services, with his family, were about to em- 
bark on a flat-boat for Natchez. Hearing of the desire of 
Mrs. Robards, Col. Stark and his family invited her to 
make the voyage in their boat and under their protection. 



140 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

Voyaging down the Cumberland and the Mississippi in 
1790 was not the pleasure trip it became half a century 
later, on palatial steamers. Indians were swarming in 
every bend of those rivers at that early day, and the leaves 
and tangled vines of the forest afforded a safe ambush for 
those merciless savages. The dangers of a voyage to 
Natchez could scarcely be overestimated, and Andrew 
Jackson at once organized an armed guard of trusty 
friends and followers, and offered to accompany Col. Stark 
as a protection for the ladies of his party. This offer was 
gratefully accepted by Col. Stark, and the entire party 
soon after embarked on the long and dangerous voyage. 
Without incident or accident worthy of note, the party 
arrived in safety at Natchez, and after seeing Mrs. Robards 
domiciled in the house of her friends, Jackson returned to 
Nashville. 

Mrs. Robards divided her time between the families of 
the brothers, Thomas M. and Abner Green, both of whom 
were leaders in public affairs and in social life. The first 
sat in the Congress of the United States as the second dele- 
gate from the Mississippi Territory, at a later period. The 
second held various positions of trust and honor in the 
Territory, and both were held in the highest esteem as men 
of courage and unsullied honor. Thomas M. Green re- 
sided near the bank of Coles Creek, in what is now known 
as Jefferson county, and his brother Abner had his home 
on Second Creek, in Adams county. The next year, 1791, 
Andrew Jackson returned to Natchez and during the sum- 
mer of that year, he and Mrs. Rachael Robards were mar- 
ried at the residence of Thomas Marston Green in Jeffer- 
son county. 

Ten years previously the State of Georgia, claiming the 
entire territory had established the county of Bourbon, 
extending from the mouth of the Yazoo river to the thirty- 
first degree of north latitude, and embracing all the terri- 
ritory now comprised within the limits of the present 
counties of Warren, Claiborne, Jefferson, Adams and Wil- 
kinson. Col. Thomas Green, the father of Thomas M. and 
Abner Green, had been for years the agent of the State of 
Georgia, and upon the establishment of the county of 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 141 

Bourbon, in the Mississippi Territory, was appointed a 
magistrate of the county, and he it was, in the capacity of 
a justice of the peace, who united Mrs. Rachael Robards 
and Andrew Jackson in the sacred bonds of marriage, at 
the residence of his son Thomas Marston Green, as has 
been already mentioned. , / 

Referring to the temporary residence of Mrs. Robards 
in Mississippi, prior to her marriage with Andrew Jackson, 
Col. Wm. H. Sparks, in his "Memories of Fifty Years," has 
this to say : 

"That there was anything disreputable attached to the 
lady's name is most improbable. She was more than fif- 
teen months an inmate of the house of Green, who was a 
man of wealth, and remarkable for his pride and fastidious- 
ness in selecting his friends or acquaintances. He was the 
second Territorial Representative of Mississippi in Con- 
gress, was at the head of society socially, and certainly 
would never have permitted a lady of equivocal character 
to the privileges of a guest in his house, or to the associa- 
tion of his young daughters. During the time she was 
awaiting a divorce (which she had applied for from the 
Spanish tribunals) Mrs. Robards was at times an inmate 
of the home of the family of Abner Green, of Second 
Creek, where she was always gladly received, and he and 
his family were more particular, if possible, as to the char- 
ter and position of those they admitted to their intimacy, 
than Thomas M. Green." 

Referring to the marriage of Andrew Jackson, and Mrs. 
Rachael Robards, Col. Sparks proceeds as follows : 

"Whatever the circumstances of the separation, or the 
cause of it, I am ignorant. At the time of her coming to 
the home of Thomas M. Green, the civil authority was a 
disputed one, most of the people recognizing the Spanish 
authorities. A suit was instituted for a divorce, and a 
decree of divorce was granted by a Spanish tribunal. 
There was probably little ceremony or strictness of legal 
proceedings in the matter, as all government and law was 
equivocal, and of but little force just at that time in the 
country. It was after this that Jackson came and married 
her in the house of Thomas M. Green." 



142 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

In the same volume, Col. Sparks thus refers to the early 
commercial transactions of Andrew Jackson in the Mis- 
sissippi Territory : 

"Many will remember the charge brought against him 
pending his candidacy for the Presidency, of having been, 
in early life, a negro trader, or dealer in slaves. This 
charge was strictly true. Jackson had a small store, or 
trading establishment, at Bruinsburg, near the mouth of 
the Bayou Pierre, in Claiborne county. It was at this 
point he received the negroes, purchased by his partner at 
Nashville, and sold them to the planters of the neighbor- 
hood. It was during the period of his commercial enter- 
prise in Mississippi that he formed the acquaintance of 
the Green family. This family was among the very first 
Americans who settled in the Territory, while it was yet 
under the domination of Spain. Thomas M. and Abner 
Green were young men at the time, though both were 
men of family. To both of them, Jackson at different 
times sold negroes. The friends formed in this section of 
the country by Jackson were devoted to him through life, 
and when later he brought his future wife to Mississippi, 
it was to the house of Thomas M. Green." 

In 1789, the State of Georgia, acting through the legisla- 
ture, determined still further to assert her authority over 
the territory she claimed, and sold 5,000,000 acres to the 
South Carolina Yazoo Company for $65,000. This sale 
embraced what now constitutes the central counties of 
Mississippi. To the Virginia Yazoo Company, Georgia 
sold 7,000,000 acres, embracing the northern counties, for 
$93,000. To the Tennessee Company, there was sold by 
Georgia, 3,600,000 acres, embracing the northern counties 
of the present State of Alabama, for $46,000. 

Spain claimed to own the disputed territory by virtue of 
her treaties with France and England, while the native 
Indians, the Creeks, Cherokees, Choctaws and Chickasaws, 
claimed it by inheritance. But the Indians were power- 
less, and looked upon the struggle for their God-given 
heritage with stoical indijQfererice. 

The purchasers of these lands, however, alarmed by the 
numerous adverse claims, and the opposition of the United 



HISTOKY OF MISSISSIPPI. 143 

States, the Indian tribes and the Spanish authorities, 
refused to meet their payments, and the legislature re- 
scinded the contracts. Georgia was annoyed, irritated and 
disgusted by this constantly recurring interference with 
her boundaries, as well as with her title, and determined 
to demonstrate, not only her confidence in the assertion of 
her rights, but to remove the obstacles to the settlement of 
her territory. With this purpose in view, the legislature, 
on the 7th of February, 1795, passed an act, by which, for 
the sum of $5,000,000, she sold twenty-one million five 
hundred thousand acres, to four companies, composed 
chiefly of her own citizens. Anticipating, it would seem, 
the howl of opposition this measure would arouse, the act 
of sale had a preamble which contained a declaration of 
the rights of Georgia in the premises. In this preamble 
it is declared : 

''That by the articles of confederation each State was to 
retain its own territory. That by the treaty of 1783, com- 
monly called the treaty of Paris, the boundaries of Geor- 
gia and of the other States were confirmed. That they 
were consistent with all the former legislation of Georgia, 
and with the action of the Convention between Georgia 
and South Carolina in 1787. That the State had the right 
of redemption and full territorial jurisdiction. That the 
treaty made between the President and McGillevray, was 
in contravention of the rights of Georgia, and that the 
guarantees made by the President to the Indians were 
without authority and invalid ; and that Georgia had the 
fee simple in and to all her lands, and would dispose of 
them, to individuals or companies, at her own pleasure." 

There can be no question of the absolute verity of every 
declaration contained in this preamble. The first com- 
pany, composed of James Gunn, Mathew McAllister, George 
Walker and others, was styled the Georgia Company ; and 
for two hundred and fifty thousand dollars, one-fifth cash, 
the remainder to be paid in nine months, in specie, United 
States bank notes, or military warrants issued by the 
State in 1791. This company bought the entire country 
now embraced within the limits of Kemper, Neshoba, 
Leake, Madison, Yazoo, Issaquena, Washington, Holmes, 



144 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

Attala, Winston, Noxubee, Lowndes, Oktibbeha, Choc- 
taw,- Carroll, Sunflower, Bolivar, Tallahatchie, Yalobusha, 
Chickasaw and Monroe counties of Mississippi, besides 
some twenty counties in Alabama. 

Nicholas Long, Thomas Cumming, A. Gordon, Thomas 
Glascock and others, formed another company, and for 
one hundred and fifty -five thousand dollars, these gentlemen 
bought all the land comprised within the territorial limits of 
Greene, Perry, Marion, Pike, Amite, Wilkinson, Adams, 
Franklin, Jefferson, Copiah, Simpson, Smith, Jasper, Clarke, 
Lauderdale, Newton, Scott, Rankin, Hinds, Warren and 
Claiborne counties in Mississippi, with a small slice of three 
counties in Alabama. 

Wade Hampton, John B. Scott and John C. Nightingale, 
bought for thirty-five thousand dollars, all the land em- 
braced in the counties of De Soto, Marshall, Tippah, Tish- 
omingo and a portion of Tunica. 

While the bill was pending in the Georgia legislature, 
for the sale of this immense territory, the State was con- 
vulsed with excitement. Charges of corruption were hurled 
in great profusion in both houses, but when the Governor 
approved the bill and made it the law of Georgia, the ex- 
citement knew no bounds. The people were frantic with 
indignation at the accomplishment of this act of robbery 
and spoliation, known from that day to this as the "Yazoo 
Fraud." Prominent and patriotic gentlemen took the 
stump in the denunciation of this stupendous swindle. 
Charges that the law had been carried by bribery were 
abundant, and even the Governor, who approved the meas- 
ure, did not escape severe denunciation. It is impossible, 
after the lapse of nearly a century, to judge with any 
degree of accuracy of the truth of the charges made 
against chose who were instrumental in securing the pas- 
sage of the law, under which these immense sales were 
made for a song. But the people were aroused from the 
mountains to the sea shore, and the cry of "repeal" rang 
through the State of Georgia, like the blast of a trumpet 
calling men to arms. After a most exciting campaign the 
"repealers" carried the legislature by a decided majority, 
and when that body met in 1796, a bill was promptly passed 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 145 

repealing the obnoxious act, and in addition, the original 
records were ordered to be publicly burned. This nvas 
accordingly done, but to make the public indignation more 
marked and emphatic, these records were burned by fire 
drawn by a convex glass, from the sun, the great luminary 
of the world, and thus, while the original records of this 
most odious law were consumed, literally by lire drawn 
from the heavens, the authors and abettors of the shame- 
less fraud were blasted by the fiery breath of public indig- 
nation. The sale of the immense territory embraced in the 
claims of the various Yazoo Companies, does not seem to 
have aroused so much opposition, as the manner in which 
the law authorizing it was passed. The sale of these lands 
would probably have been quietly submitted to by the 
the people, though the purchasers paid a very inadequate 
price for them, but the conviction that bribery had been 
resorted to in securing the passage of the act authorizing 
the sale, aroused a frenzy of indignation among the people, 
and all who came under public suspicion of having re- 
ceived a bribe for their votes, were doomed men. Sparks 
in his "Memories of Fifty Years," referring to the passage 
of the obnoxious law, says : 

"The act was passed by a bare majority of both 
branches of the Legislature, and the sale was consum- 
mated. Before the passage of this measure, the will of 
the people had been sufficiently expressed in the indignant 
outburst of public feeling, as to leave no doubt upon the 
minds of the corrupt representatives, that they had not 
only forfeited the public confidence, but had actually im- 
perilled their personal safety. Upon the return to their 
homes, after the adjournment, they were not only met 
with universal scorn, but with inappeasable rage. Some 
of the most guilty were slain ; some had their houses 
burned over their heads, and others fled the State ; one 
was pursued and killed in Virginia, and all not only en- 
tailed upon themselves infamy, but also upon their inno- 
cent posterity; and to-day, to be known as a descendant 
of a Yazoo man, (that is, a man who voted for the Yazoo 
Iraud), is a badge of disgrace." 

The original purchasers of what to-day constitutes the 
10 



146 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

best part of Mississippi, and a large portion of Alabama, 
were not slow to assert their rights in the courts. The 
cause finally reached the Supreme Court of the United 
States, where, in the case of Fletcher vei'sus PecTc, the 
court affirmed the power of the State to sell its public do- 
main, and the validity of the sale made by Greorgia to the 
Yazoo companies. An amicable adjustment was subse- 
quently made by a tripartite arrangement between Geor- 
gia, the United States, and the Yazoo Land Companies. 

Meanwhile, President Washington had deemed it his 
duty to direct the attention of Congress to the transac- 
tion, as one that "might deeply aflfect the peace and wel- 
lare of the United States," and that body directed the 
Attorney-General to investigate the title of Georgia. 

"All these proceedings," says Claiborne, referring to 
them, "directly affected the Spanish authorities of Louis- 
iana. The State of Georgia had sold the very ground oc- 
cupied by her garrisons on the Mississippi. The compa- 
nies who bought would bring in thousands of colonists 
with arms in their hands. The president had brought the 
matter before Congress, and plainly manifested a disposi- 
tion to occupy the country. An agent of Georgia, General 
Mathews, protected by the usages of diplomacy, had 
arrived at Natchez, to reassert the claim of that State. 
Badgered and worried at every point, Spain, proverbially 
dilatory, obstinate and punctilious, at length gave way, 
and on the 27th day of October, 1795, a treaty was signed 
at Madrid, by which it was agreed that the southern 
boundary of the United States should be the line of the 
thirty-first degree of north latitude, from the Mississippi 
to the Chattahoochie ; thence down the middle of that 
river to its junction with the Flint; thence to the head of 
St. Mary's river ; thence down that river to the Atlantic. 
That all Spanish posts north of this line should be re- 
moved within six months, and American posts and inhab- 
itants living south of it should be removed within the 
same period. That the navigation of the Mississippi, 
should, through its whole length, be free for the commerce 
of both nations ; that both would co-operate to cultivate 
peace with the Indians; and that before six months a 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 147 

joint commission should run out the line of boundary, 
under the protection of the two powers." 

Under the stipulations of the treaty, by which Spain 
ceded to the United States a large portion of the territory 
now included within the limits of Mississippi and Ala- 
bama, it was provided that the southern boundary between 
Spain and the United States should be established by a 
joint commission composed of a representative of each 
government, within the period of six months, Spain, in the 
meantime, retaining possession until the boundary line 
should be formally established. Under this provision, 
Andrew Ellicott, a native of Pennsylvania, and an astron- 
omer of some repute, was appointed on the part of the 
United States to perform this duty. But it was not until 
February 24th, 1797, that Mr. Ellicott arrived at Natchez. 
He left Pittsburg soon after his appointment, and there 
engaged twenty-five woodsmen, and left on three barges 
furnished by the government, with a small escort under 
the command of Lieutenant McCleary, of the United States 
army. 

In his descent of the Mississippi he stopped at the Span- 
ish posts of New Madrid, Chickasaw Bluff*, (now Memphis,) 
and at Walnut Hills, (now Vicksburg), where he was 
treated with all the courtesy and politeness due to the 
official representative of the United States government. 
He also stopped at the mouth of the Bayou Pierre, in 
Claiborne county, to interview Maj. Peter B. Bruin, who 
had served with distinction in the Continental army, and 
who was present at the storming of Quebec under General 
Montgomery. He was near that General when he fell, and 
was himself badly wounded. He was appointed an 
Alcalde under Spanish rule, and when the Mississippi Ter- 
ritory was established, he became one of the three judges. 
He retained office until 1810, when he resigned. His resi- 
dence was on a plantation near the mouth of the Bayou 
Pierre, where he died universally respected. His place 
was long known as "Bruinsburg," a shipping point of con- 
siderable importance in early times, and has been made 
historic as the point where General Grant landed th^ 
United States forces in May, 1863, preparatory to the battle 



148 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

of Port Gibson, and the memorable seige of Vicksburg. 
Referring to Judge Brain, Claiborne says : "His name is 
extinct, but he has left descendants of the well-known 
names of Briscoe, Watson and Scott. When Aaron Burr 
came down the river he also landed and paid a visit to Judge 
Bruin, who had known him during the revolutionary war. 
Some attempt was made by heated partizans to implicate 
Judge Bruin, but no one who knew the venerable patriot 
tolerated the suspicion for a moment. Judge Bruin, in all 
probability, like many others, did not impute treasonable 
intentions to Burr, a point which to this day remains an 
open question." 

Andrew Ellicott appears to have been a vain, weak man, 
of a suspicious nature, ignoble tastes and passions, and 
withal had very exalted ideas as to his own character and 
attainments. He evidently came to Mississippi with the 
most inordinate notions of the importance of the position 
he occupied. Instead of regarding himself as a mere 
astronomer, engineer or surveyor, to run out and establish 
a line between the possessions of Spain and the United 
States, he imagined himself to be a sort of an ambassador, 
or an envoy extraordinary, and his pretentious and inflated 
vanity made him the laughing stock of those with whom 
he was brought in contact. His temper was irrascible and 
moody, and his frequent potations did not tend to sweeten 
his disposition. 

Ellicott had left his escort, Lieutenant McCleary and 
twenty-five men, at the mouth of the Bayou Pierre, but on 
the 16th of March, 1797, he arrived with his men, and 
camped at Bacon's landing, a short distance below Natchez. 
"The first detachment," says Claiborne, "of national troops 
that trod our soil." "From this time," says the same 
author, "Ellicott poured upon Governor Gayoso a volley 
of notes, remonstrances and expostulations, day after day, 
and often three times a day, assuming the action of a first- 
class diplomatist, and the authority of a commanding gen- 
eral, until the Governor, concluding that he had really 
been sent to Natchez with extraordinary powers, replied 
formally and respectfully to his bulletins, always conclud- 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 149 

in^ by referring him to his superior, Carondelet, at New- 
Orleans." 

Ellicott was evidently out of his element. His "creden- 
tials" had never been asked for, and no time had been as- 
signed for his "presentation at court," and therefore he was 
unamiable to a degree. Hence he persuaded himself, and 
succeeded in imbuing sundry citizens with his opinions, 
that the Spanish authorities had no intention of surrender- 
ing the country to the United States in accordance with the 
stipulations of the treaty. He impressed many people 
with the belief that they were in danger of having their 
property confiscated, and were also in danger of arrest and 
deportation, and that it would be better for them to with- 
draw from the district and retire to the American settle- 
ments, the nearest of which was on the Cumberland river ! 
He carried his annoyance to the extent of addressing a 
formal application to Governor Gayoso, under date of 
March 31st, for permission to the people to sell their prop- 
erty, and for passports to leave the district. On the same 
day the Governor answered his application in the follow- 
ing manly terms : 

"You inform me of several respectable inhabitants re- 
questing your interposition, to procure for them a privi- 
lege they have always enjoyed, and which is the birth-right 
of the Spaniard. There is not one single example in this 
government of having opposed any one selling his property 
and leaving the country, whenever he asked for a passport, 
and, of course, I shall not now deny the same privilege to 
any one who calls for it. No one who obeys the laws is 
in danger of arrest. There is hut one single individual 
imprisoned in tliis entire district^ and that is upon a crim- 
inal charge. There is not a single patrol out in pursuit of 
anybody, nor do I find any occasion for it. But if neces- 
sary I shall use every means in my power to repress dis- 
order, and to keep the peace of the country, as I have al- 
ways done !" 

Referring to this correspondence, Claiborne caustically 
remarks: "The same people into whose minds Ellicott 
had infused his own suspicions, had lived under the mild 
rule of Gayoso, and his predecessors, in peace ; had en- 



150 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

joyed the same rights as Spanish-born subjects, had re- 
ceived liberal grants of land, of their own selection, for 
merely nominal fees ; had paid no taxes, rendered no mili- 
tary sermce ; had been appointed to offices of trust ; had 
been protected, on their prayer, from the rapacity of usur- 
pers and alien creditors, and to stimulate their industry, 
had been allowed free access to the market of New Orleans, 
and had been paid by the king a liberal price for all the 
tobacco they could produce. Prior to the arrival of Mr. 
Ellicott, no discontent prevailed, and in the entire district, 
from the thirty-first degree of north latitude, to the mouth 
of the Yazoo, but one man was in prison ! And this in a 
frontier settlement, with a heterogeneous population of 
conflicting races and creeds, with no restraining power but 
the Governor and half a dozen magistrates." 

On April 15th, 1797, Lieutenant Pope, United States 
army, arrived at the Walnut Hills, (now Vicksburg), with 
his company, where the Spaniards were occupying fort 
Nogales. He, in accordance with a notification from Gov- 
ernor Gayoso, anchored his boats in the river to await 
events. As soon as Ellicott heard of the arrival of Lieu- 
tenant Pope at the Walnut Hills, he wrote to that officer 
informing him that war between the United States and 
Spain was imminent. That his proper post was at Natchez, 
and urged his immediate arrival. Pope took his departure 
for Natchez, where he soon arrived, says Claiborne, "with- 
out artillery, money, medicines or a surgeon, and was sup- 
plied by Governor Gayoso, the enemy whom he had ex- 
pected to fight, with clothing and medicine for his men." 

Ellicott and Lieutenant Pope soun disagreed, and finally 
Ellicott succeeded in imbuing the minds of "• lewd fellows 
of the baser sort" with such hostility against Governor 
Gayoso, that that official was compelled to abandon his 
private residence and take refuge in the fort. This inci- 
dent caused the deepest disgust in the minds of the citi- 
zens, and realizing the danger of a conflict between the 
Americans and the Spanish soldiers, while the two govern- 
ments were on the most amicable terms, many of the best 
citizens assembled at the residence of William Belk, and 
appointed a committee of safety, composed of Anthony 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 151 

Hutchins, Cato West, Bernard Lintot, Gabriel Benoist 
Joseph Bernard, and William Ratliff. This committee 
met at Natchez and adopted the following propositions to 
be laid before Governor Gayoso, and respectfully asking 
their transmission to the Governor-General at New Or- 
leans : 

1st. " The inhabitants of the district of Natchez, who, 
under the persuasion that they were citizens of the United 
States, agreeably to the treaty, assembled and embodied 
themselves, are not to be prosecuted or injured on that 
account, but to stand exonerated and acquitted. 

2d. The inhabitants of the district above the thirty-first 
degree of north latitude are not to be embodied as militia, or 
to be called upon to aid in any military operation, except in 
case of Indian invasion, or the suppression of riots, dur- 
ing the present state of uncertainty, owing to the late 
treaty between His Catholic Majesty and the United States, 
not being yet fully carried into effect. 

3d. The laws of Spain in the above district shall be con- 
tinued, and are on all occasions to be executed with mild- 
ness and moderation : nor shall any inhabitant be trans- 
ported as a prisoner out of his government on any pretext 
whatever. And notwithstanding the operation of the 
Spanish laws is here admitted, yet the inhabitants person- 
ally shall be considered as neutrals, in the present state 
of uncertainty. 

4th. The committee engage to recommend it to their 
constituents, and to the utmost of theirpower will endea- 
vor to preserve the peace and tranquility of the district, 
and the due execution of justice." 

These propositions having been laid before Governor 
Gayoso, the following response to the Committee was 
made : 

'' Being always desirous of promoting the public good, 
we do join in the same sentiment with the Committee, and 
accede to their four stipulations, agreed upon for the pur- 
pose of re-establishing the peace and tranquility of the 
district ; and that it may be constant and notorious, I sign 
the present under the seal of my arms, and countersigned 



152 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

by the Secretary of the Government, at Natchez, June 22d, 
1797. 

Manuel Gayoso de Lemos, 

Brigadier in the Royal Armies, Governor, Military and Political, 
of the Natchez and its defenses. 

Joseph Vidal, 

Secretary. 

These propositions having been conveyed by special 
messenger to Governor-General Carondelet, at New Or- 
leans, that oflBcial returned them with his hearty approval. 

"This," says Claiborne, "restored the public tranquility, 
and Governor Gayoso returned to his usual residence. 
About this time Carondelet being promoted to the govern- 
ment of Quito, Gayoso succeeded him as Governor-Gen- 
eral of Louisiana, leaving Don Stephen Minor as Governor 
of the Natchez district. 

The Stephen Minor upon whom the command of the 
Natchez district was thus devolved, was a native of Penn- 
sylvania. "He first visited New Orleans in 1780," says B. 
L. C. Wailes, "to procure military stores for the American 
posts on the Ohio and the Monongahela. On his return, 
with a caravan of loaded mules, not far from the post of 
Arkansas, his stores were plundered, and his men all mur- 
dered, his own escape being due to a fortuitous detention 
by sickness, a few hours behind his party. He afterwards 
repaired to New Orleans, joined Galvez in his expedition 
against Mobile, where his gallantry attracted the atten- 
tion of that officer, and secured the favor of the General, 
by whom his position in the Spanish army was advanced. 
In 1783, he was sent to Natchez, where his rank seems to 
have been that of "Aid Major" to the post. He remained 
at Natchez during the whole term of the Spanish jurisdic- 
tion, acting during the latter period as aid to Governor 
Gayoso. by whom, when appointed as Governor-General 
of Louisiana, he was left as acting Commandant of the dis- 
trict of Natchez ; and De Grand Pre appointed to succeed 
Gayoso, not assuming the duties of the office. Major Minor 
continued to act until the country was evacuated." 

Major Minor was popular with all classes, was genial 
and generous, and when Spain finally evacuated the coun- 
try he resigned his commission in the Spanish army and 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 153 

settled in what is now known as Adams county. He ac- 
cumulated a large fortune. His descendants are still to 
be found in the States of Mississippi and Louisiana. He 
was the father of the late Wm. J. Minor, whose grandchil- 
dren yet reside in the city of Natchez. 

One of the last acts of Gayoso, previous to leaving 
Natchez to assume his new duties in New Orleans, was one 
highly honorable to him, and illustrative of his liberal 
course to the American people residing in the district 
under his command. A number of gentlemen addressed 
him the following letter : 

"We, the underwritten, a committee appointed by the 
inhabitants of the district, recommend to your Excellency 
that the inhabitants, in case they have reason to be dis- 
satisfied with their Alcaldes now in office, shall be at 
liberty to assemble and nominate three persons, one of 
whom your Excellency will be pleased to put in commis- 
sion. 

We, likewise, recommend it to your Excellency, to quiet 
the minds of the people, that you do consent that all pro- 
ceedings on criminal process or charges, be inquired into 
and acted upon by the Alcaldes of the district where such 
crimes and misdemeanors have been committed, and that 
the magistrates be authorized to summon assistance to 
apprehend criminals and disturbers of the peace." 

Anthony Hutohins, 
Bernard Linwot, 
Isaac Gaillard, 
Gabriel Benoist, 
Joseph Bernard, 
Wm. Ratliff. 

Natchez, June 22, 1797. 

To whioh the Governor replied as follows : 
"By these presents I declare that, whenever it shall be 
found necessary, the inhabitants of each district will rep- 
resent to me, through one of the committee, the necessity 
of nominating a new Alcalde, I will issue the neces- 
sary permit to elect three of their principal men, one of 
whom I will appoint. Henceforth the Alcaldes shall take 
cognizance in the first instance of all misdemeanors com- 



154 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

mitted within their respective jurisdictions. If found 
necessary they will commit the accused to prison, and 
before sentence shall be pronounced will lay the case before 
me. In civil cases to the amount of fifty dollars they will 
decide, but parties may have three days within which to 
appeal to me, through the Alcalde, who, in such cases, will 
submit to me the proceedings. An appeal ro^ay be had 
from my decision to the Governor- General of this province, 
in all cases exceeding one hundred dollars. When par- 
ties agree in due form, to an arbitration, there is no ap- 
peal, and the Alcaldes will enforce the award of the arbi- 
trators." 

The foregoing letter to Gayoso, made manifest the fact 
that the signers of that letter, and those whom they repre- 
sented, were thoroughly imbued with the principles of 
republican government and home rule. Later, in Septem- 
ber, 1797, Don Stephen Minor, who was acting as Governor 
ad interim of the district of Natchez, had given his assent 
to the election of "a Committee of Safety," to be voted for 
by the inhabitants of the district. When the day of elec- 
tion arrived, Lieutenant Pope of the United States army, 
who was thought to be entirely under the influence of 
Andrew Ellicott, prepared and sent to each of the polling 
places the following high-handed and insolent circular : 

Camp, September 2, 1797. 

Mr. Landon Davis, Homochitto : 

Sir — It is with pain I am informed that you are taking 
an extremely active part in opposition to the present per- 
manent committee, who are making every exertion to re- 
store peace to the country. I shall with pleasure hear of 
your using every exertion in your power to lull the minds 
of the people in your quarter. They have taken up an 
erroneous opinion of the principles on which they are now 
acting. This cannot he permitted.'''' 

Mr. Davis read this epistle with contempt, but as it had 
been delivered to him while the election was being held, 
by an orderly in uniform, the effect of it was to intimidate 
and deter the people from voting. At a later period, dur- 
ing the process of reconstruction, the people of Mississippi 
and the other Southern States, had abundant experience 



HISTORY OP MISSISSIPPI. 155 

of the presence of the military power at elections, and "the 
insolence of office," when sustained by armed soldiers. 

The people of the present day well know how the su- 
premacy of the civil was maintained over the military 
power of the country, in later years, but it is gratifying 
to know that the spirit of liberty, as well as the indig- 
nant opposition to wrong, glowed as brightly in the 
hearts of the early settlers of Mississippi, as it did in the 
hearts of their sons and daughters at a later and not 
remote period. Col. Anthony Hutchins, an early pioneer 
in Mississippi, a man of education and fortune, of great 
force of character, patriotic and public spirited, who had 
been a soldier in early life, at once sent the following 
manly and ringing letter to Lieutenant Pope, rebuking him 
for his insolence and teaching him a lesson he probably 
never ceased to remember : 

Whitp: Apple Village, Sept. 6, 1797. 

"Sir — You are perfectly aware that by due authority the 
inhabitants of this district held an election on Saturday 
last for the purpose of electing a committee to draft a 
memorial to Congress, and an agent to represent them at 
the seat of government. 

"More voters assembled, and there would have been the 
largest vote ever thrown in this district, but for your im- 
proper letter of interference, and it is my duty to tell you 
so. You awed and discouraged men as free as yourself, 
from their right to vote, and the government never sent 
you here to do that. On the 12th of June you issued a 
letter to the inhabitants, which fomented the insurrection 
that Ellicott had planned, a man that you personally scorn 
and publicly deride, and yet you have allowed him to use 
you to your own discredit, and to the injury of this district. 
I am persuaded that you have good intentions, but you 
are badly blinded. I therefore deal frankly with you, and in 
a friendly spirit, by informing you that, in behalf of the in- 
habitants, who feel outraged, I shall write to your supe- 
rior, Captain Guion, at the Chickasaw Bluifs, who I heartily 
wish was here now," 

The committee elected was Col. Thomas M. Green, 



156 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

Daniel Burnet, Justus King, Landon Davis, Dr. John Shaw, 
Anthony Hoggett, James Stuart, Chester Ashley and Abner 
Green, These were all representative men, gentlemen of 
character and education, who founded large families, made 
fortunes, and their descendants to-day may be found in 
large numbers in Mississippi and Louisiana. 

"The Committee of Safety," says Claiborne, "adopted a 
trenchant memorial to Congress, representing the anxiety 
of the people in regard to Georgia and British land claims, 
the large majority holding under Spanish tenures, praying 
that no persons interested in land speculations should be 
appointed to office; asking for the privilege of electing 
their own officers ; deprecating such a government as had 
been established for the northwestern territory as not 
adapted to this district ; complaining of the military in- 
terference of Lieutenant Pope, and praying that Andrew 
Ellicott be either recalled or confined strictly to the busi- 
ness he was sent to do." 

The letter in which Col. Hutchins informed Lieutenant 
Pope he should write to his superior. Captain Guion, then 
at Chickasaw Bluff, soon produced good fruit. In a letter 
from Captain Guion, to his subordinate, he uses the follow- 
ing language : 

"I am sorry to observe that there are complaints against 
you for improper conduct, and in that degree as to give 
serious displeasure to the Spanish authorities, and raise 
up obstacles to the execution of the treaty. You are 
strictly to avoid this in future. Such, I am sure, were your 
orders when you left Fort Massac, and I reiterated them in 
my letter of the 4th. You must, by a change of conduct, 
remove any bad impressions made on Governor Gayoso." 

To Governor Gayoso, himself, he wrote : "I am sorry ta 
hear that the officer heretofore commanding the United 
States troops at Natchez, has given to your Excellency, 
and to the subjects of His Catholic Majesty, and to the 
other inhabitants of that district, cause for discontent. 
This shall no longer he the case. He has received my 
orders, and I hope very soon to be there in person." 

The Captain Guion referred to was assigned by General 
Wilkinson, then commanding the United States army, to 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 157 

the delicate and responsible duty of receiving the territory 
with its forts, armaments, etc., then occupied by the Span- 
ish authorities. Claiborne thus refers to him: "Captain 
Isaac Guion, the officer selected for this delicate and im- 
portant expedition, was a native of West Chester county. 
New York, of a highly respectable family of Huguenot 
extraction. He entered the Continental army in 1775, at a 
very early age, as an ensign, and was in the assault on 
Quebec, December 31, 1775, and stood near the gallant 
General Montgomery, when he, two aids, and a number of 
others were killed by a discharge from a British battery 
only forty paces from their position. He continued in 
service until November 23, 1783, when the army was dis- 
banded. He re-entered the army March 5, 1792, and re- 
mained in it until June 1, 1802. 

During the latter period he served in Wayne's celebra- 
ted legion, and commanded a company in the memorable 
battle of August 20th, 1794. He was a thoroughly trained 
officer ; impetuous but cool ; resolute, inflexible, punctil- 
ious, extremely courteous, but exacting in return every 
honor due to his rank and character. He was a singu- 
larly handsome man, with a military port and manner, 
very fascinating in conversation, familiar with ancient and 
modern languages, and with the literature of the age. 

In pursuance of his orders Captain Guion, with a strong 
detachment of infantry and artillery, left Fort Washing- 
ton, (now Cincinnati), in May, 1797, by way of the Ohio 
and Mississippi rivers. His first stop was at Fort Massac, 
the most advanced post of the United States, situated on 
the Ohio river, in what is now the State of Illinois, to take 
on some additional artillery. His next stopping place was 
at New Madrid, in the present State of Missouri, where 
the Spaniards maintained a fort. The commandant at 
New Madrid objected to his proceeding further down the 
river, but finally consented that he should proceed as far 
as the Chickasaw Bluff's, on condition that the American 
soldier should pledge himself to go no further until the 
matter should be determined by their superiors. Giving 
this pledge. Captain Guion departed and arrived at what 
is now known as Memphis on the 20th day of July, 1797. 



158 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

Here he found that the Spanish commandant had destroy- 
ed [the works, retired from the Bluffs, crossed the river and 
taken position at Hopefield, or Esperanza, in what is now 
known as Arkansas. Having no shelter for his troops, 
Captain Gruion erected a fort, to which he gave the name 
of Fort Adams, in honor of the then president. This fort 
was subsequently known as Fort Pickering. His movements 
after this are succinctly described in a private letter to a 
personal friend in North Carolina : 

"Early in November, 1797, having left a sufficient garri- 
son to protect Fort Adams, which I had just completed, 
I left the Chickasaw Bluffs and descended the river to 
Fort Nogales, (now Vicksburg), then held by Spanish 
troops. Here I remained three days in my boats. I po- 
litely demanded possession in the name of rhe United 
States, and was politely refused. My hands were tied by 
positive orders to do nothing to displease the Dons, or to 
occasion 'a rupture,' or even 'a complaint,' so I made my 
bow and took my departure for Natchez, one hundred 
miles below, where I found Mr. Ellicott, United States 
Commissioner for running the boundary line. Lieutenants 
Pope and McCleary, and some forty or fifty men, who had 
been there a long time doing no good, but a great deal of 
harm. They had got the people, who before their arrival 
had dwelt together in amity, cut up into factions and very 
discontented. 

"I found a Spanish garrison of some forty men, and two 
regular and one provincial officer. The late governor, 
Gayoso, having recently succeeded Carondeletas Governor- 
General of Louisiana, and transferred his headquarters to 
New Orleans, leaving the district of Natchez under the 
command of Captain Stephen Minor, a native of Penn- 
sylvania, long in the Spanish service. I encamped on a 
hill just one thousand yards from the Spanish fort, and 
the flags of two nations waved over the same district. 

"On the 30th of March, 1798. the Spanish garrison evac- 
uated the fort, nothing having occurred since my arrival to 
interrupt our friendly relations. 

"In a short time Ellicott, his assistants and escort, left 
Natchez, (very much to my satisfaction and to the satisfac- 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 159 

tion of the people), for a point on the river near Loftus 
Heights, where it is supposed they will find the point 
designated by treaty for a boundary, to-wit : the thirty- 
first degree of north latitude. This personage has re- 
mained here, very actively and profitably employed for 
himself, ever since February, 1797, sometimes exciting 
dissensions between private families ; at others endeavor- 
ing to spread a spirit of mutiny among the troops, or an 
insurrection among the inhabitants ; and at all times 
closely intent in making a good job out of the commis- 
sion, receiving at the rate of ten dollars a day fixed, while 
some days he made twenty." 

A few days after the Spanish forces evacuated Natchez, 
the same ceremony was performed at the Walnut Hills, 
(now Vicksburg), where Fort Nogales was turned over to 
Major Kersey, who with a detachment of United States 
troops, took immediate possession. 

During the interval between the retirement of the Span- 
ish authorities, and the establishment of a territorial gov- 
ernment by Congress, Captain Guion remained the princi- 
pal military and civil officer of the district, and from the 
concurrent testimony of citizens of the highest character, 
no better or more peaceful condition, no better order, 
with less of lawlessness and violence, had ever been main- 
tained before or since. This is a very high praise for Cap- 
tain Guion, but it is no more than he is entitled to. By his 
courtesy, good sense and discretion in the performance of 
his delicate and responsible duties, the American soldier 
won the respect, the confidence and the admiration of the 
Spanish officials with whom he was brought in contact, as 
well as of the entire body of the inhabitants of the dis- 
trict. 

Referring to this condition of affairs, Claiborne indulges 
in the following remarks : 

"There had been a recess or interregnum of government 
from the 30th of March, 1798, when the Spanish comman- 
dant and garrison left Natchez, until August 2d, when 
Governor Sargent arrived. But Major Guion, (he had 
been promoted to that rank) was present during the 
interval, with a battalion of United States troops, in the 



160 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

capacity of civil and military cotnniander, in perfect har- 
mony with the citizens, and universal tranquility and 
order had prevailed through the entire district." 

It is a matter of interest to know that Louis Phillipi, 
then the Duke of Orleans, who ascended the throne of 
France in 1830, was a visitor to Natchez for a brief period 
in February, 1798. 

In a letter to Major Guion, from General Wilkinson, 
dated at Pittsburg, January 2d, 1798, the General says : 

"I send this letter by the Marquis de Montjoy, an exiled 
noble of France, of high rank. He has been a professional 
soldier, and has greatly interested me with the details of 
his military life. He attends the Duke of Orleans, and his 
brothers, who are bound, as I understand, to New Orleans, 
to seek a passage to the Havana, from whence they go 
under convoy, to Spain, to join their mother who has es- 
caped to that kingdom. The conduct of the French baflBLes 
all speculation. They have gone from one excess to 
another, until they have thrown down every thing of 
law, of security, religion or principle, and have rendered 
infamous the name of republican. It appears to me that 
the genius of that nation, so brilliant in science and in war, 
is not at all adapted to regulated liberty, and that the 
convulsion will ultimately end in the restoration of royalty. 
In that case, when you receive this letter, you will probably 
see the future king of France. The Duke of Orleans is 
popular and a soldier. Fulfill your orders respecting for- 
eigners, and treat these wanderers, who are friendly, with 
hospitality and respect." 

In another part of his letter the General informs his cor- 
respondent tbat "Captain John Pierce has been sent by 
the Secretary himself, to command at the (Chickasaw) 
Bluffs, (now Memphis,) with a select corps of incomparable 
rascals under Lewis, Marschaulk and Steele," to which 
Claiborne adds a foot-note, and says : "This is the first 
mention we have of Andrew Marschaulk, so well known at 
Natchez in after years " 

Congress, having in April, 1798, established a territorial 
government for Mississippi, in June of that year. Presi- 
dent Adams appointed the Hon. Winthrop Sargent, Gov- 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 161 

ernor of the territory. The evacuation of the country by 
the Spanish authorities left Major Guion the sole repre- 
sentative of authority, civil and military, in the district of 
Natchez, and to him was entrusted the preservation of 
good order and the peace of the community. How well he 
performed that duty, and what confidence was reposed in 
him by the citizens of the district, is well established by 
the following correspondence, honorable alike to both 
parties : 

Natchez, May 1st, 1798. 

To Major Guion, Commanding United States Troops : 

Sir : — As it is very doubtful when the civil officers for 
this district will arrive, and we are daily experiencing 
many inconveniences in the absence of all civil authority, 
the repair of the roads, removing nuisances, keeping up a 
patrol, preventing riots, and the sale of spirits to Indians, 
and some regulation for the security and recovery of debts, 
are objects essential to our well-being, and yet, for all 
these purposes, we are without authority, and we can 
accomplish nothing without your support and approval. 
As a committee, representing the inhabitants of this town, 
we respectfully ask your assistance. 
We have the honor to be, etc., etc., 

David Ferguson, 
Lewis Evans, 
Daniel Douglass, 
John Scott, 

Committee. 
The response of Major Guion stamps him as a clear- 
headed, discreet and patriotic soldier, and affords a won- 
derful contrast to the edicts of certain epauletted ruffians 
during the period of reconstruction. In his reply Major 
Guion says : 

"The objects enumerated in your letter are all import- 
ant to your citizens, and. until the arrival of the officers of 
this district, can be accomplished by voluntary associa- 
tion and common consent. You shall have my co-opera- 
tion whenever it may be necessary, The selling of spirits 
to Indians, without a license from the Superintendent of 
Indian Affairs, is strictly prohibited bv act of Congress, 
11 



162 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

approved May 19th, 1796, and is therefore an offense against 
the United States, and the penalties will be rigidly enforced 
by me. In regard to the security and recovery of debts, 
perhaps, by common consent, you may devise some plan ; 
hut as these matters are too closely connected vdth judicial 
and legislative powers to he touched hy me^ I shall neither 
advise or discountenance any action the citizens may agree 
upon, and shall only interfere in case of violence or breach 
of public order." 

The work of establishing the boundary line between the 
possessions of Spain and the United States, was, after the 
retirement of Gayoso, on the part of Spain, conducted 
by Don Stephen Minor, as commissioner, and Sir Wil- 
liam Dunbar, as astronomer, with a surveyor and a 
military guard. The American part of the commission 
consistedof Andrew Ellicott, as astronomer. Major Thomas 
Freeman, as surveyor, the necessary axmen, and a military 
guard under the command of Lieutenant McCleary, of the 
United States army. 

The Spanish officials who bore sway for nearly seventeen 
years in Mississippi, as Grovernors, or military and civil 
commandants, were as follows : 

First, Senor Francis Collet ; second, Colonel Trevino ; 
third, Don Estavan Miro ; fourth, Senor Piernas ; fifth, 
Don Francis Bouligny ; sixth, Don Carlos Grand Pre ; 
seventh, Don Manuel Gayoso de Lemos, who was the last 
Spanish Governor to control the destinies of the Province, 
and he was, in all probability, one of the best and most 
liberal. 

These officials all had their headquarters at the town of 
Natchez. 



CHAPTER VII. 



MISSISSIPPI AS A TERKITORY, 

FROM 1798 TO 1801. 

ON the 12th day of June, 1797, President John Adams, 
in a special message to Congress, recommended the 
erection of "a government in the district of Natchez, sim- 
ilar to that established for the territory northwest of the 
Ohio, with certain modifications relative to titles or claims 
of land,'whether of individuals or companies, or to claims of 
jurisdiction of any individual State." This recommendation 
was referred to a special committee of four members, with 
instructions to report by bill or otherwise. 

By an act of Congress, approved April 7th, 1798, it was 
declared, ''that all that tract of country bounded on the 
west by the Mississippi ; on the north by a line to be 
drawn due east from the mouth of the Yazoo to the Chat- 
tahoochie river ; on the east by the Chattahoochie river ; 
and on the south by the thirty-first degree of north lati- 
tude, shall be and is hereby constituted one district, to be 
called the Mississippi Territory, and the President of the 
United States is hereby authorized to establish therein a gov- 
ernment in all respects similar to that exercised in the terri- 
tory northwest of the Ohio, excepting and excluding the 
last article of the ordinance made for the government 
thereof by the late Congress on July 13th, 1787, and by 
and with the consent of the Senate, to appoint all the neces- 
sary ofiicers therein." (The clause excluded was the ordi- 
nance of 1787, prohibiting the introduction of "slavery or 
involuntary servitude" into the territory northwest of the 
Ohio river.) 

Congress reserved the right to divide the Mississippi 
Territory into two districts; declared that the establish- 



164 HISTORY OP MISSISSIPPI, 

ment of the Territorial government should in nowise im- 
pair the rights of Georgia in the territory. It declared it 
also unlawful to bring into the district slaves from any 
foreign country. 

Under the act organizing the Territorial government 
northwest of the Ohio, it was provided that the Governor 
and the three judges, all appointed by the President, 
should be, or a majority of them, empowered, "to adopt 
and publish in the district such laws of the original States, 
civil and criminal, as may be necessary and best suited to 
the circumstances." 

"The General Assembly, or Territorial Legislature, shall 
consist of the Governor, Legislative Council and a House 
of Representatives." At a meeting in joint assembly of 
these three branches, they were authorized to elect a dele- 
gate to the National House of Representatives, who 
should have the right to speak and advocate any measure 
he should think proper, but was to have no vote on any 
question. 

The language of the law in regard to the formation of 
the Legislative Council was as follows : "The Legislature 
shall nominate ten persons and return their names to Con- 
gress, five of whom Congress shall appoint and commis- 
sion." The members of the Legislative Council were to 
continue in office five years, unless sooner removed by 
Congress, any three of whom shall constitute a quorum." 

The law of Congress authorized the Secretary of the 
Territory; in case of the absence of the Governor, or his 
inability to perform the duties of his office, to discharge 
the duties of that officer during the absence or inability 
of the Governor. 

Georgia, immediately after the passage of the law cre- 
ating the Territorial government of Mississippi, entered a 
solemn protest against the action of Congress as subver- 
sive of her rights in the premises. 

Under this act President Adams appointed Winthrop 
Sargent, of Massachusetts, Governor, and John Steele, Sec- 
retary of the Territory. Governor Sargent was a native of 
the old "Bay State," was a revolutionary soldier, and served 
with considerable distinction as captain, and subse- 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 165 

quently as major in the Continental army, in the brigade 
of General Arthur St. Clair. When the latter was ap- 
pointed Governor of the territory northwest of the Ohio, 
WJnthrop Sargent was appointed Secretary of the Terri- 
tory, and in consequence of the bad health and frequent 
absence of the Governor, he many times, and for long 
periods, performed all the duties of the executive, as well 
as those pertaining to his own office. He was discharging 
the duties of Secretary of the Territory of the Northwest 
when he was promoted to the position of Governor of the 
Mississippi Territory. There was considerable opposition 
in the Senate to his confirmation, but his appointment was 
tinally confirmed. Governor Sargent was a man of integ- 
rity, of courage, and of fair ability ; but he was a Puritan 
of the Puritans, narrow-minded, illiberal, and of strong 
prejudices. He was ascetic in temperament, cold, austere 
and suspicious ; was repellant in manners, and was ex- 
tremely bigoted. Before leaving Fort Washington, (now 
Cincinnati), he received a letter from the Secretary of State, 
in which he was informed of the character of the people 
he was sent to govern, the condition of the country, the 
temper of the inhabitants, the necessity of being at once 
tirm and conciliatory, and was advised to emulate the ex- 
ample of his Spanish predecessor. Governor Gayoso, "in 
cultivating agreeable social relations with the citizens." 
In responding to this letter. Governor Sargent said : 

"I do, indeed, accept your remarks in good faith, and 
you cannot confer on me a greater obligation than by 
continuing them. They may be honorable to myself and 
useful to the new government. The footing on which Gov- 
ernor Gayoso lived with the inhabitants may not be 
equally in my power to observe, from the difference be- 
tween the American and Spanish appointments. It shall 
be my study to conciliate and attach all parties to the 
United States." 

The new Governor was, as we have said, a man of strong 
prejudices, and unfortunately for those whom he was sent 
to rule over, he had imbibed the strongest dislike against 
the people of the Mississippi Territory before he left the 
northwest for his new post of duty. In his letter to the 



166 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

Secretary of State from Cincinnati, bearing date June 16th, 
1798, he writes the Secretary thus : 

"From the best intelligence I have been able to procure, 
there prevails in the country of our destination a refrac- 
tory and turbulent spirit, with parties headed by men of 
perverseness and cunning. They have run wild in the re- 
cess of government, and.every moment's delay in the adop- 
tion of rules and regulations after the ordinance shall be 
promulgated, must be productive of growing evils and 
discontents." 

Mever was a community more cruelly and harshly 
judged than were the people then residing in the Territory 
of Mississippi, by Governor Sargent. At least nine-tenths 
of the early settlers of the territory were men of high 
character, of education, fortune and family. They were 
principally from the New England States, Virginia, Geor- 
gia and the Carolinas. Many of them had been ofl5cers 
in the Continental army during the war of the revolution. 
They were uniformly men of landed estates, and therefore 
directly interested in the preservation of law and good 
order. They were as unlike the turbulent and disorderly 
characters that usually flock towards the frontiers of a 
new settlement as it is possible to imagine. The descend- 
ants of these early settlers have proven themselves worthy 
of the high character, the rugged virtues, the courage and 
constancy of their ancestry. They have always main- 
tained the character of orderly, law-abiding citizens. 
They have filled high places in the State and national 
councils, and in the forum, as in the field, they have 
borne themselves as men worthy of their lineage, honora- 
ble sons of noble sires. 

As an index to the character of Governor Sargent, a letter 
from Sir William Dunbar, an educated and accomplished 
gentleman, the youngest son of Sir Archibald Dunbar, of 
Elgin, a famous family in Scotland, to his friend, Mr. Ross, 
bearing date May 23d, 1799, is quite conclusive. Sir Wil- 
liam writes : 

" I returned from the boundary line with our new Gov- 
ernor, who had been to pay a visit to Mr. Ellicott. I am 
on as good terms as it is possible to be with a man of his 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 167 

phlegmatic and austere disposition. However good his in- 
tentions may be to do what is just and lawful, or even 
praiseworthy, it is impossible that a man so frigid and 
sour can give satisfaction to a free people " 

Andrew Ellicott, the astronomer on the part of the Ameri- 
can government, to run the boundary line between the 
possessions of Spain and those of the United States, was 
a disturbing element, a veritable marplot, from the mo- 
ment he planted his feet on the soil of Mississippi until 
he left it, and it was the opinion of the best informed and 
most intelligent men in the Territory, that Governor Sar- 
gent had fallen in with the prejudices and antipathies, 
personal and political, of Ellicott, and was wholly under 
his influence. The Governor invariably followed the ad- 
vice given him by Ellicott, in regard to men and measures, 
and as invariably ignored the suggestions of the most in- 
telligent people of the Territory, men of the highest char- 
acter, and the heaviest material interest in the country. 
The people had warmly welcomed Governor Sargent, on 
his arrival at Natchez, August 6th, 1798, and were pre- 
pared to give him their entire confidence and support. The 
coldness and austerity of his manners, his suspicious dis- 
position, coupled with the fact that he had seemingly taken 
Ellicott alone into his confidence, and imbibed the preju- 
dices and antipathies of that apple of discord, made his 
life in Mississippi a very unhappy one. 

The new Governor addressed the people of Natchez ten 
days after his arrival, in which he announced that "per- 
sonal merit, and a firm attachment to the United States 
should be the qualifications for office under his adminis- 
tration, and that he should defer his appointments until 
he could become acquainted with the people. This declar- 
ation gave entire satisfaction to the people of the country, 
but this pleasure was of brief duration. In one week after 
making his address, Governor Sargent made a visit to the 
camp of Andrew Ellicott, who was then engaged in run- 
ning the boundary line. The object of this visit was gen- 
erally understood to be for the purpose of consulting with 
Ellicott as to his appointments. Nothing could have been 
better calculated to arouse the hostility of the people. 



168 HISTORY OB' MISSISSIPPI. 

Ellicott was the most thoroughly detested individual in 
the territory. A man of brains and education, but of vio- 
lent passions, intense vanity, extreme selfishness, and a 
low order of morals ; his whole life in Mississippi was a 
constant wrangle with the best and most intelligent peo- 
ple, and his chosen companions were of the worst and 
lowest class to be found in the territory. He was an object 
of contempt with all the officers of the army in Natchez, 
was a constant libeler of the best citizens of the district, 
and it is not strange, therefore, that the visit of the Gov- 
ernor to Ellicott was regarded by the people as an ill-omen 
for them. Among his earliest communications to the Sec- 
retary of State, the Governof wrote of the people he had 
been sent to govern and to conciliate, as " composed of 
various characters, and among them the most abandoned 
villians." In another letter he "recommended the expul- 
sion of certain aliens, and the necessity of transcending 
the laws, to maintain public order, and put down the 
seditious " In his letter to the Secretary he indulges in 
the following language: '' I am sometimes constrained to 
measures that imperious necessity only can justify. They 
will no doubt be noticed by the malcontents, of whom 
there are not a few ; and among them some most unscru- 
pulous scoundrels, who manage with great art and ad- 
dress." He seems to have acquired a vast fund of infor- 
mation about the people in his interview with Ellicott, and 
also to have imbibed all his prejudices against the lead- 
ing men of the country. It is no marvel, then, that Gov- 
ernor Sargent should have grown unpopular, and that 
what might have been a couch of roses was converted into 
a veritable bed of thorns. 

The Governor reached Natchez in very bad health, 
though that can scarcely be relied on as a defense for his 
many arbitrary acts. He caused to be arrested one man 
for " impudent observations," and Claiborne says, " he 
was strongly inclined to apply the Sedition law, and arrest 
Major Freeman, the American surveyor, for writing and 
speaking contemptuously of Commissioner Ellicott." 

Again Governor Sargent writes to the Secretary of State, 
and again his pen is steeped in venom. He writes as fol- 
lows: 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 169 

"Diffused over our country are aliens of various char- 
acters, and among them the most abandoned villians, who 
have escaped from the chains and prisons of Spain, and 
been convicted of the blackest crimes. It would be wise 
policy to provide for extirpating such from the territory. 
We have no prisons, and the vilest offenders therefore cal- 
culate, with some certainty, on impunity. I have done 
everything in my power, more, perhaps, but I trust neces- 
sity will plead my justification." 

This letter from the Governor, like a swift witness, proves 
too much, Ic was the boast of Governor Gayoso, when 
he retired, that there was but one solitary prisoner in the 
district, that perfect order had been preserved, and that 
there being no lawlessness, there existed no necessity for 
prisons. 

In another letter to the State Department, Governor Sar- 
gent writes thus in reference to the then Capital of the 
Territory : 

"Natchez, from the perverseness of some of the people, 
and the inebriety of the negroes and Indians on Sundays, 
has become a most abominable place," and he suggests 
that the military arm be used to repress the people. He 
considered seriously the proposition to seize a Catholic 
church, and convert it into a courthouse, but finally aban- 
doned the idea on the ground that "it might hurt the 
feelings of about a dozen Catholic families, and give of- 
fense to the king of Spain, who had it built." He recom- 
mended the issuance of orders to prevent aliens from 
traveling through the territory without passports, and a 
short time thereafter he issued a proclamation directing 
that " all persons not actually citizens inhabiting the ter- 
ritory, or some one of the United States, to report them 
selves within two hours after their arrival at any of the 
settled posts of the territory, to a conservator of the peace, 
under penalty of imprisonment. And prohibiting any 
citizen from entertaining or comforting any person neglect- 
ing to comply with the regulations." 

As the military did not sympathise with the Governor 
in any of his arbitrary acts, he sought to have them re- 
moved from Natchez, under the plea of "saving the men 



'v/ 



170 HISTOKY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

from debauchery, and for other reasons of national im- 
portance." 

One of his most arbitrary acts was the appointment of 
a citizen as a general administrator, with full power to 
administer on the estate of decedents, taking bond, etc., 
" thus," says Claiborne, " by a single commission, creat- 
ing an office, prescribing the laws for its administration^ 
and appointing an officer to fill it." " Royalty could do 
no more !" was the brief and pungent criticism of the late 
John M. Chilton, one of the most accomplished lawyers of 
his time, in reviewing this arbitrary proceeding of Gov- 
ernor Sargent. 

The Governor, in pursuance of the power vested in him, 
divided the territory into two counties, Adams and Pick- 
ering, and proceeded to organize them by appointing a 
full corps of county officers, some of whom were very 
acceptable, while others were very obnoxious to the peo- 
ple. 

President Adams had appointed three judges of the ter- 
ritorial court, to wit : Peter B. Bruin, and two men named 
respectively, Tilton and McGuire. The last named was 
the only lawyer on the bench. 

Governor Sargent and the three judges were authorized 
to frame a code of laws for the governance of the Territory, 
to be drawn from the statutes of the other States, but this 
they did not do. Following the pernicious precedent the 
Governor had previously established in the northwestern 
territory, he and his colleagues proceeded to frame a code 
of laws directly at variance with all statute law in Ameri- 
ca, and utterly repugnant to any known system of juris- 
prudence derived from the common law fdf England. 
Among other delightful statutes framed by this quartet of 
jurists, and under which the Governor received^ many per- 
quisites, was one allowing the fees for marriage licenses, 
which were fixed at eight dollars ; and for the privilege of 
lodging and feeding travelers, eight dollars. These fees 
went directly into the pocket of the Governor, as did the 
fee of four dollars for a passport, for any one desiring to 
leave the territory. Under this same code the judges were 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 171 

allowed fees on all judicial processes, notwithstanding the 
fact that the salaries of these same judges were paid from 
the coffers of the national treasury. 

Against this code and its exorbitant fees, flowing as they 
did directly and steadily into the pockets of the Governor, 
there was an outburst of fiery and indignant protest, partic- 
ularly among those speaking the English language, and who 
were familiar with the principles of English and American 
liberty. Prominent among those who joined with, and led 
the protestors against the code of laws formed by Governor 
Sargent and the judges, were to be found the most active, in- 
telligent and influential men in the community. Such men 
as Cato West, Thomas M. Green, Narsworthy Hunter, Ger- 
ard Brandon, Hugh Davis, Samuel Gibson, Thomas Oalvit, 
Alexander Montgomery, Felix Hughes, David Greenleaf, 
John Bolls, Ebenezer Dayton, Randall Gibson, Francis 
Smith, Wm. Ervin, Ebenezer Smith, John Foster, Joseph 
Calvit, Israel Luse, Moses Bonner, Richard King, Henry 
Hunter, Patrick Foley, Wm. Conner, Sutton Banks, Jesse 
Carter, Thomas Lovelace, George Selser, Parker Carradine, 
Abner Green, Robert Throckmorton, Jesse Harper, Robert 
Miller, Thomas White, James and Thomas Foster, Gibson 
Clarke, Tobias Gibson, Mathew Tiernan, William Foster, 
and others, petitioned Congress to cancel and annul these 
laws, to put a stop to these arbitrary measures, and to give 
to them and the people whose sentiments they represented, 
a voice in the framing of their own laws. 

The people of the Territory were of too stern and heroic 
mold to submit quietly to the arbitrary acts of Governor 
Sargent, and they proposed to carry their cause before the 
Congress of the United States. For this purpose they 
selected Narsworthy Hunter, a native of Virginia, an edu- 
cated and patriotic gentleman, long a resident of the Ter- 
ritory, as their agent to laj^ their just complaints before 
the Congress. *Armed with the following credentials, Mr. 
Hunter took his departure for Philadelphia, the then seat 
of government : 

Natchez, October 2d, 1799. 
"The undersigned, a general committee regularly chos- 
en by the inhabitants of the Mississippi Territory, in the 



172 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

several districts of the same, for the purpose of seeking, 
by the constitutional mode of petition, redress of the 
grievances which oppress this country ; having drawn up 
and signed two petitions of this date, to be laid before 
Congress, one for confirmation of the rights to our lands, 
etc., the other against the improper and oppressive meas- 
ures of the Territorial government, and praying for a Legis 
lative Assembly, do hereby nominate and appoint, as our 
special agent, our fellow-citizen, Narsworthy Hunter, (dis- 
tinguished for his attachment to the United States), to lay 
before Congress our aforesaid petitions, in full confidence 
that he will execute the trust reposed in him ; and he is 
hereby authorized to make such explanations and further 
representations of the facts as he may find necessary dur- 
ing his continuance at the seat of government as agent for 
this Territory, and we pray the Honorable Congress to give 
full credence to his representations in our behalf." 

This paper was signed by twenty-one of the most repu- 
table, intelligent and wealthy citizens of the Territory, 
members of the committee. 

In addition to the general authorization to speak for 
the people of the Territory, Mr. Hunter presented a peti- 
tion from the people, numerously signed by the best citi- 
zens of the country. This petition set forth : 

"That from the vast distance of the district from the 
seat of government, and all other settled portions of the 
United States, Congress could have but a partial knowl- 
edge of it, or of the temper of its inhabitants ; and that 
they had been grossly misrepresented by Andrew Ellicott, 
in his communications to the President and Secretary of 
State, and by Governor Sargent, who derived his opinions 
from Ellicott. Soon after Ellicott's arrival, he recom- 
mended for this district a government similar to that pro- 
vided for the northwestern territory — two sections, in their 
people and institutions, entirely dissimilar. His recom- 
mendation was made without color of authority, and 
merely in the interest of himself and his satellites, 
who were chiefly those who had been the favorites of the 
Spanish Governor. Under our Governor, those who had 
enjoyed the patronage of the Spaniards are the exclusive 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 173 

recipients of executive favor, and those who felt it their 
duty to oppose the intrigues of Ellicott, are considered 
little better than a conquered people. We have no hope 
of seeing a militia organized capable of efficient service. 
The officers have been appointed in groups, not residing 
among, and unknown to the men they are to command ; 
appointed not on the recommendation of sixty-four men 
who constitute a company, but at the instance of two or 
three favorites, of doubtful patriotism, and obnoxious to 
the people. Governor Sargent's letter of December 20th, 
1799, to the Secretary of State, does us much wrong. He 
represents us as being soured with the government of the 
United States. This is extremely incorrect. Many of us 
have fought for the government, and all of us anchor our 
hopes in it. It is not with our government we are soured, 
but with the executive caprice, oppression and intrigues 
at home, and an experience of these under the preceding 
dynasty has taught us to dread them now, and to avert 
them by every means available to freemen. Upon his ex- 
cellency's arrival, we had the highest hopes of his admin- 
istration, but we confess our disappointment. His pro- 
mulgation of laws, framed by himself in direct violation 
of the ordinance of 1787, and subjecting us to arbitrary 
taxation and exorbitant fees at his own pleasure, are 
alarming enough. Communications to the Governor, com- 
plaining of these grievances, receive no attention. We, 
therefore, pray your honorable body to extend to us the 
second grade of government contemplated under the ordi- 
nance, with such additions and modifications as may be 
adapted to our peculiar condition." 

In addition to the foregoing petition, Mr. Hunter was in- 
structed to lay before Congress the following letter from 
the general committee to Governor Sargent, to which, as 
stated in the petition, "no attention" had been paid : 

"Your excellency will bear in mind that for a long time 
before the arrival of Mr. Ellicott, two parties had existed 
in this district, one composed of the planters, mechanics, 
etc., chiefly natives of the United States. The other of 
miscellaneous characters, informers and a train of court 
sycophants, who had been in the habit of influencing the 



174 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

Spanish authorities for their own selfish ends, at the ex- 
pense of the body of inhabitants. This latter party, it is 
notorious, got possession of Commissioner Ellicott. For 
want of a manly confidence, or for want of personal cour- 
age and integrity, he fell into the snare; and under the 
pretext that the people were doing wrong, he shunned 
those whose counsels he should have taken, (including 
every ofiicer of the United States army), and threw him- 
self into the arms of ex-Spanish functionaries, and became 
a principal and active instrument in creating tumults and 
disaffection. After deserting and betraying the people, 
and abandoning the best interests of the United States, we 
are to view him as now engaged in new intrigues against 
us. Nothing can convince the people of this country to 
the contrary. While some of his co-adjutors were propa- 
gating the impression that the United States would never 
get possession of the district, he took particular care not 
to contradict the report. And while these opinions were 
intimidating and discouraging the people, he secretly in- 
formed the Spanish Governor that Col. Hutchins, Col. 
Grreen, and Bbenezer Dayton had each made propositions 
to seize him (the Governor) and carry him out of the coun- 
try! His opposition to these three popular characters was 
because they had censured his inefficiency in not carrying 
the treaty into effect. When Captain Guion arrived and 
swept away his importance, Mr. Ellicott used every exer- 
tion to excite the people to assert a right to govern them- 
selves and control the military ; that their liberties were 
in danger. This is the man who (to finish his mischievous 
labors), has given the present austere and unaccommoda- 
ting tone to your administration, so foreign to the genius 
of the constitution, and so humiliating to a free and proud 
people." 

"When he could profit no longer by fomenting quarrels 
in the fii:st person, he has reached us by the infiuence over 
you. The impression he has made of us not only degrades 
us before the country, but they encourage here the factious 
and disorderly. The exertions and influence of this man 
may be considered an unerring barometer of the state of 
public order. He had kept us in perpetual commotion. But 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 175 

when Captain Guion took the coflamand, tranquility was 
everywhere restored, notwithstanding Ellicott's unremitted 
efforts to create distrust between h^m and the people. 

"Upon your Excellency's arrival'' the people were ready 
to embrace you as a father. There -vas universal rejoicing 
that an American Governor had come. Your address of 
the 16th of August, stating that "mer{\t and a firm attach 
ment to the United States should be t\e qualification for 
office, and that you postponed your appointments until 
you could become personally acquainte(^ with the people," 
was received with satisfaction and applause. But, with- 
out waiting for this, you went directly to Ellicott's camp, 
and, as we firmly believe, you returned with your list of 
appointments, made out there by the American Commis- 
sioner, and we hear no more of your seeking an acquain- 
tance with the people and their wishes. We admit that 
some good men have been appointed to office, but the 
numerous rejections and resignations of your Excellency's 
appointments demonstrates the impossibility of reconcil- 
ing the people to the influence of Ellicott & Co. 

" We entreat your Excellency to divide the territory into 
proper districts. Let the people have the privilege of 
recommending their militia officers. Let your field officers 
be Americans, who have never been concerned in foreign 
intrigues, and your magistrates should be of the same 
character. Some of your laws cannot be reconciled with 
the Constitution of the United States, or with the laws of 
the States. By your Code any person convicted of trea- 
son, incurs the death penalty and forfeits all his property, 
real and personal, to the Territory. The Constitution of 
the United States declares that Congress alone shall have 
the power to declare the punishment for treason, and by 
their laws no forfeiture is incurred. 

"By your Code the person convicted of arson is to be 
v/hipped, pilloried, confined in jail not exceeding three 
years, and forfeits all his estates to the Territory. The 
Constitution of the United States says that excessive fines 
and punishment shall not be imposed, and that none of 
these offences shall work corruption of blood or forfeiture 
of estate, longer than during the life of the person con- 



176 HI-STOIY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

victed, and that in the case of treason only. If a state of 
society exists here, which makes it expedient for you to 
ignore the Constitution, of the United States in framing 
your statutes, we are yet to see it. We have been in the 
district for more than twelve months at a time without the 
benefit of laws of any kind, and notwithstanding we had 
been distracted by t^ie intrigues of Ellicott and others, the 
general stock of virtue was sufficient to preserve peace and 
awe the vicious. Crimes were not more frequent then than 
they are at present ; and if this fact be admitted (and it 
cannot be confuted), it affords a hint to executive and leg- 
islative bodies that merits their deepf^st attention." 

Mr. Hunter laid these documents before Congress with 
the following pungent and incisive letter to a prominent 
member of Congress : 

Philadelphia, February 4, 1800. 

Sir — You inquire first, "By what authority Cato West 
and others were appointed a committee for the territory ?" 
A meeting was held by the principal inhabitants on the 
6th of July last, to consult upon the unhappy condition of 
affairs, and if possible devise a remedy. The result of 
this conference was a circular to each of the districts (or 
beats), recommending the people to assemble and nomi- 
nate a committee charged to bring their grievances before 
the Governor and before Congress. The result was the 
election of the committee. I have copies of the circular 
and of the instructions given by the people of the several 
districts to the committee. 

2d. You inquire, "What is the aggregate number of free 
inhabitants of the territory ; what proportion are natives 
of the United States, what the number of our militia ?" 

Our Governor has never taken a census of the people, 
nor has he been able to organize the militia, so that we are 
at a loss with respect to our numbers. I think, however, 
we cannot have less than six thousand free inhabitants, 
and about two thousand capable of bearing arms. Our 
people are, with the exception, perhaps, of one-tenth, 
natives of the United States. 

3d. "Is there much immigration to the territory? Have 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 177 

many of the citizens removed to the Spanish province 
below, and if so, what have been the inducements ? " 

"The immigration to our territory is, at this time, very 
limited, owing to the impossibility of obtaining lands 
except by purchase from individuals. The facility with 
which lands are obtained in the Spanish dominion by 
grant or order of survey, at merely nominal cost, draws 
the immigrant in that direction. Men of property are in- 
clined, even with this difference, to prefer our territory, but 
the poorer classes are induced to go below. A number of 
families have recently left lor the Spanish Territory with 
Dr. White, and others are preparing to sell out, if possible, 
for that purpose. Various circumstances have operated to 
this end, but the morose and arbitrary conduct of Gov 
ernor Sargent is a primary cause. The laws he has put 
forth are odious ; in conflict with the Federal Constitution ; 
with no precedent in the laws of other States ; both the fees 
he exacts and the tines he imposes are excessive. His 
appointments, civil and military, have given, for the most 
part, general dissatisfaction. All the officers that enjoy 
the respect of the people have either refused his appoint- 
ments, or after holding them a short time, have thrown 
them up. He will never be able to organize the militia, 
notwithstanding his law imposing heavy fines on those 
who refuse his appointments. His exorbitant fees for 
passports to persons who desire to return to the United 
States, and for tavern and marriage licenses, are universally 
denounced as burdens on the public for his own enrich- 
ment." 

After a long discussion of the petition of the people of 
the Territory against Governor Sargent, the following reso- 
lution was reported : 

''Resolved, That there does not appear cause for further 
proceedings on the matters of complaint for raal-adminis- 
tration against Winthrop Sargent, as Governor of the Mis- 
sissippi Territory." 

This was on the 3d of March, 1800, and while the 

adoption of the resolution would have been a tacit acquittal 

of the Governor, it is a matter of fact, that the resolution 

was negatived, many of the most prominent members of 

12 



178 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

the House voting against it. There seemed no disposition, 
however, to pursue Governor Sargent, and no further action 
was taken. 

"On the 3d of April, 1800," says Claiborne, "Governor 
Sargent, leaving his infirm Secretary, John Steele, in charge, 
departed from the Territory for Boston, to vindicate him- 
self, and to rally a party there against the^advance of the 
Territory, as prayed for by the people." 

From this time we hear no more of Governor Sargent in 
connection with the executive department of the Territory 
of Mississippi. In leaving the Territory, he left it literally 
without an executive head. Mr. Steele, the Secretary, had 
been a confirmed invalid from his first arrival in the Terri- 
tory, and was unable, from the wretched condition of his 
health, to perform the most trivial duty. Leaving under 
these circumstances, Governor Sargent added nothing to 
his reputation by abandoning his field of duty, and the 
performance of his oflicial functions, to one wholly unable 
to discharge, either his own duties as Secretary, or to take 
upon himself the performance of other, heavier and greater 
responsibilities. 

Governor Sargent had been a good soldier, was a man of 
brains and courage, was doubtless a thoroughly honest 
one, and a century and a half earlier would have made a 
model Colonial Governor for Massachusetts. As the Gov- 
ernor of the Territory of Mississippi, however, he was out 
of place. He was not en rapport with the people he was 
sent to rule over. He had no throb of sympathy with the 
hardy, independent and proud men he came in contact with 
in Mississippi, and necessarily and inevitably his adminis- 
tration was an utter failure. 

Under an act of Congress, approved May 10th, 1800, the 
representation in the Territorial Legislature was appor- 
tioned. By this act Adams county was entitled to four 
representatives, Pickering, (which originally comprised all 
the territory now embraced in the counties of Jefferson 
and Claiborne,) was entitled to four representatives, and to 
the Tombigbee and Tensaw settlements one representative 
was allotted. This act provided that representatives should 
be elected on the fourth Monday in July, and that the 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 179 

legislature should convene in the town of Natchez, on the 
fourth Monday of September. It also provided for the 
meeting of the legislature once a year. 

Section 10 of this act authorized the appointment of 
commissioners to compromise and settle the adverse claims 
of Georgia to the Territory of Mississippi. Under these 
commissioners an agreement was reached by which Geor- 
gia surrendered all right and title to the Territory of Mis- 
sissipi to the United States, and by the same commission- 
ers a final settlement was made with the purchasers of 
lands under the celebrated "Yazoo Land Companies/' 
which sales had previously been formally repudiated by 
Georgia. 

The triumph of the people in their contest with Gov- 
ernor Sargent was complete. They had protested against 
the arbitrary laws of the Governor, and the onerous fees 
and license taxes exacted under those' laws, and Congress 
had formally condemned both. The people had demanded 
a second grade territorial government, and a legislature 
chosen by themselves. Congress granted both proposi- 
tions. It not only gave the people the power to elect their 
own legislators, but clothed the legislature thus chosen 
with the power to override the veto of the Governor bj" 
the usual two -thirds majority. It made the advice and 
consent of the legislature necessary for the confirmation of 
all appointments to office by the Governor. It took from 
him the arbitrary power of enacting laws, and confided 
that power to the legislature chosen by the people. This 
was all that the people of the territory had ever desired, 
and they were more than content with the victory they had 
won. 

November of the year 1800 witnessed the election of 
Thomas Jefferson as the third President of the United 
States, and on the fourth day of March, 1801, he was in- 
stalled into his great office. 

On the 10th day of July, 1801, President Jefferson ap- / 
pointed the Honorable William Charles Cole Claiborne to 
be Governor of the Mississippi Territory to succeed Win 
throp Sargent. On the 2d day ol August Mr. Claiborne 
accepted the position, and announced to the President his 



180 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

inability to leave Nashville, Ma then home, for his new 
post of duty until the ensuing month of October. 

Previous to appointing his successor. President Jeffer- 
son wrote to Governor Sargent, "that from various and 
delicate considerations, which entered into the appoint- 
ment of a Grovernor for the Mississippi Territory, it was 
expedient, in his judgment, to fill the station with another 
than himself, whose administration, with whatever meri- 
torious intentions conducted, had not been so fortunate as 
to secure the general harmony, and the mutual attachment 
between the people and the public functionaries so par- 
ticularly necessary for the prosperity and happiness of an 
infant establishment." 



CHAPTER VIII. 



MISSISSIPPI AS • A TERRITORY. 
FROM 1801 TO 1804. 

/n OVERNOR CLAIBORNE arrived at Natchez on the 
\jr 22d day of November, in the year 1801, to enter upon 
the discharge of his new. onerous and responsible duties. 

The selection of Mr. Claiborne/or Governor of the young 
Territory was a most fortunate one, as well for the people 
most directly interested as for the Federal Government. 
William C. C. Claiborne was born in Virginia, obtained a 
good education, studied law, was admitted to the bar, and 
when quite young, migrated to Tennessee, where he soon 
acquired a large and lucrative practice. He served as one 
of the Judges of the Superior Court of Tennessee, was a 
Representative in Congress four years, and was a practical 
man of affairs, with a handsome person, genial disposition 
and attractive manners. 

His administration of the affairs of the Mississippi Ter- 
ritory was a success from the start. He imparted new life 
to the long dissatisfied and dejected people, and the con- 
trast between the morose, austere and bigoted puritan, and 
the handsome, frank and genial young Virginian, was 
most marked. While Governor Sargent repelled all confi- 
dence and friendship, his successor, on the other hand, by 
his frank, cheerful and hearty manner, won all hearts, and 
paved the way for a most successful and popular adminis- 
tration. The various positions he had filled, his large and 
long contact with the world, his experience in four years 
service in Congress, had given Governor Claiborne a knowl- 
edge of men that was moat useful to him in his new posi- 
tion, and his various appointments soon indicated the pos- 
session of an unerring instinct in selecting the right man 
for an official position. 



1§2 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

The appointments made by Governor Claiborne during 
the first four months of his administration, were capital 
ones, and were universally selected from the most intelli- 
gent men of the community, gentlemen of education, 
character, and with a substantial interest in the young Ter- 
ritory. As evidence of this, and his wisdom and thorough 
knowledge of men, we adduce the following list of his ap- 
pointments for Adams, Claiborne, Jefferson and Wilkin- 
son counties : 

Abner Green, of Adams county, was appointed Treas- 
urer-General for the Territory; and for the same county 
the following appointments were made to fill the various 
county ofiices : For justices of the peace, Abram Ellis, 
James Ferrall, Adam Tooley, Caleb King, George Fitz- 
gerald; for sheriff, Daniel Kerr; for county clerk, Peter 
Walker, and John Henderson, county treasurer ; Robert 
Stark, clerk of the Adams District Court ; Abner L. Dun- 
can, district attorney, and Archibald Lewis, clerk and mas- 
ter in equity for the Adams county district. The follow- 
ing militia officers for Adams county were appointed at 
the same time: Benijah Osmun, Lieutenant-Colonel, and 
Abram Ellis and Richard King, majors. 

For Claiborne county, Wm. Downs, George W. Hum- 
phreys, James Stanfield, Ebenezer Smith, Daniel Burnet, 
and James Harman, were appointed justices of the peace. 
Samuel Cobun was appointed sheriff; Mathew Tiernay, 
clerk of the county court, and Samuel Gibson, coroner. 
Daniel Burnet was appointed lieutenant-colonel, and Wil- 
liam Nealy, major. 

For Jefferson county, Cato West, Thomas Calvit, Jacob 
Stampley and Henry Green were appointed justices of the 
peace ; John Girault, clerk of the county court; Daniel 
James, clerk of the district court, and Felix Hughes, mas- 
ter in chancery. Zacharia Kirkland and William Thomas 
were appointed majors of the militia. 

For Wilkinson county, John Ellis, Hugh Davis, John 
Collins, Richard Butler, William Ogden and Thomas 
Dawson, were appointed justices of the peace ; Henry Hun- 
ter, sheriff, and Samuel Lightner, clerk of the county 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 183 

court. John Ellis was made lieutenant-colonel, and Rich- 
ard Butler was appointed major. 

For Washington county, a county organized by Governor 
Sargent, extending from Pearl to the Chattahoochie river, 
and embracing the present city of Mobile, and the settle- 
ments on the upper Tombigbee river, John Caller, John 
Johnson, James Fair, Joseph Thompson, John McGuire, 
Thomas Bassett, John Brewer and Joseph Henderson were 
appointed justices of the peace, and Richard Lee, clerk of 
the county court. John Caller and Nathaniel Christmas 
were appointed majors in the militia of the county. 

The George Wilson Humphreys, of Claiborne county, 
who was appointed a justice of the peace by Governor 
Claiborne, was the son of Col. Ralph Humphreys, who 
commanded a Virginia regiment during the war for 
independence, and this son was the father of the late Ben- 
jamin G. Humphreys, who was successively Representa- 
tive and Senator in the Legislature from his native county, 
Colonel and Brigadier-General in the army of the Confed- 
erate States of America, a ad finally was chosen by the 
people as Governor of his native State, the proud and 
prosperous commonwealth of Mississippi. 

The day after his arrival at Natchez, that is to say, on 
the 23d of November, 1801, Governor Claiborne wrote to 
Mr. Madison, the then Secretary of State : 

"I left Nashville on the 8th ultimo, and arrived here 
yesterday morning. The voyage was a long one, owing to 
the low state of the Cumberland, Ohio and Mississippi 
rivers. The shores of the Mississippi are fertile beyond 
description, apparently a vast deposit of alluvium ; the 
accumulation of sedimentary matter during centuries of 
overflow. Its future of productive power and population 
is beyond the wildest imagination to calculate. This great 
delta is almost entirely unoccupied. On the western or 
Spanish shore there are but three petty settlements be- 
tween the mouth of the Ohio and the post of Concord, 
opposite this place, an interval of some eight hundred 
miles. * * * * Col. Steele, the Secretary of this Ter- 
ritory, is still living, but too low to give me any informa- 
tion as to the posture of affairs. The Legislature will 
convene next Tuesday." 



184 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

On the 12th day of December, 1801, Governor Claiborne 
writes to Mr. Madison as follows : 

"The Legislature assembled on the 1st instant, and on 
the next day I delivered an address to the two houses. I 
hazard the opinion that this assembly is composed of hon- 
est men, truly attached to the Union, and to the interests 
of the Territory. For want of experience their proceed- 
ings may be attended with some irregularities, but with 
their intelligence these will soon disappear. All opposi- 
tion to the second grade of government has vanished, and 
the citizens generally seem contented with the political 
situation. I find myself most cordially received, and shall 
study, on my part, to promote their best interests." 

Again, on the 20th of December, he writes to Mr. Madi- 
son : 

"A treaty has just been concluded with the Choctaws at 
Fort Adams, by which they consent to the opening of a 
post road through their country to Tennessee, but refuse 
the privilege asked for white men to erect and keep houses 
of entertainment on the route. This privilege they 
shrewdly retain for themselves. They desire looms and 
farming implements, and the exclusion of liquors from 
their country. 

"The river front here is thronged with boats from the 
west. Great quantities of liour and other produce continu- 
ally pass. Cotton, the staple of this Territory, has been very 
productive and remunerative. I have heard it suggested 
by our business men that the aggregate sales this season 
will exceed seten hundred thousand dollars! A large rev- 
enue for a people whose numbers are about nme thousand, 
of all ages and colors. Labor is more valuable here than 
elsewhere in the United States, and industrious people 
soon amass wealth. This undeniable prosperity has 
silenced the clamor against the second grade of govern- 
ment, which was chiefly based on the increased expense 
and taxation, and the inability of the people to endure it. 

"The Legislature is now engaged on a new judiciary 
system. The manner in which the superior and inferior 
courts have heretofore been arranged is generally con- 
demned. There is certainly room for improvement. One- 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 185 

half, perhaps more, of the citizens have no confidence in 
the judges. The Legislature participates in this feeling, 
and will, I fear, be inclined to legislate more against men 
than upon principle. * * * The Legislature will give 
me, I think, in pursuance of my recommendation, an ef- 
fective militia law. My predecessor, notwithstanding 
strenuous exertions, was unable to organize the militia, 
and I found the Territory wholly defenceless. 

"We require five hundred muskets, and as many rifles, 
which I hope will be sent as early as practicable. Bor- 
dering on a foreign power, separated from the nearest 
State by a wilderness of six hundred miles, with numer- 
ous savage tribes enveloping our settlements, and a servile 
population nearly equal to the whites, an armed militia is 
essential to both safety and tranquility." 

On the 8th of January, 1802, Governor Claiborne wrote 
to Mr. Madison : 

"The Legislature progresses slowly, but their proceed- 
ings evince a careful attention to the public interest. Po- 
litical excitement has nearly disappeared. The only dis- 
content is with the judges. I have endeavored to allay 
•this feeling and restore confidence, but ineffectually. The 
Chief Justice, Mr. Lewis, is a learned lawyer and a man 
of talents. But his colleagues, Messrs. Tilton and Bruin, 
(however amiable in private life), have not had the train- 
ing for the bench. The former, it is said, read law for a 
few months, but never practiced. The latter was brought 
up a merchant. The litigation here will involve conflict- 
ing titles to vast and valuable tracts of land, and will de- 
mand profound legal attainments on the bench. If these 
gentlemen, or either of them, should resign, as is now 
rumored, I respectfully urge the appointment of thor- 
oughly trained lawyers of the highest character. Col. 
Steele continues in bad health, and I am much inconve- 
nienced for aid in my office." 

On the 6th day of February, the Governor again wrote 
to Mr. Madison and said : 

"The old factions still survive to some extent. It is 
gratifying to me lo know that they were created before my 
arrival. I believe I have firmness enough to be indepen- 



186 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

dent of any of them, and virtue sufficient to be just to all. 
The legislature will probably adjourn in a day or two. 
With patriotism and honesty they are liberally endowed, 
but lack experience, and are consequently slow. Most of 
the laws passed by Governor Sargent and the judges have 
been repealed, and almost an entirely new code substituted. 

"I hope you will approve the enclosed letter to General 
Wilkinson, urging him to establish at this place a small 
arsenal of the surplus arms now at Fort Adams, with one 
company in charge. We are now defenceless and without 
arms." 

The reader is invited to contrast these letters of Governor 
Claiborne, to the State department, with the official utter- 
ances of his predecessor. Governor Sargent, to the same 
department. Nothing can better illustrate the difference in 
character, nature and human sympathy, of the two officials, 
and nothing can better demonstrate the superior fitness of 
the one for official position in an infant Territory, and the 
absolute unfitness of the other. In looking at the two men 
we may well exclaim with Hamlet, "Hyperion to a Satyr!" 

In December, 1802, the Legislature was again in session. 
It enacted a number of laws, established Jefferson College, 
and elected Col. Thomas Marston Green, a delegate in 
Congress in place of Hon. Narsworthy Hunter, who died 
at the Capital during the session. Claiborne has the fol- 
lowing notice of the newly elected delegate : 

"Col. Thomas Marston Green, an accomplished gentle- 
man, and most useful citizen, was the son of Col. Thomas 
Green, the head of a numerous family and influential con- 
nection. He was a Virginian, and an officer of the Conti- 
nental army. He removed to Georgia and was associated 
with General George Rodgers Clarke and General Elisha 
Clarke, of Georgia, in their schemes for an attack on the 
Spaniards. Col. Green, with a large party of friends, went 
to the Holston river, built boats and descended the Ten- 
nesse to its mouth, expecting there to find General George 
Rodgers Clarke, but not finding him, and being unable to 
ascend the Ohio with their boats, they continued on to 
Natchez. Col. Thomas Green, (the father of the delegate,) 
had an interview with the Spanish Governor, as agent for 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 187 

the State of G-eorgia, and claimed the entire district for 
that State. He was a bold, determined and persistent man. 
The Spanish authorities finding that he was likely to excite 
a tumult, had him arrested and sent to New Orleans. His 
devoted wife soon followed, and from exposure and anxiety 
died shortly after her arrival. This touched the heart of 
the Spanish Governor and Col. Green was released. The 
family settled on the waters of Cole's Creek, in Jefferson 
county. 

"Col. Cato West and General Thomas Hinds were his 
sons-in-law, and by intermarriage it constituted one of the 
largest connections in the district. His son, Abner Green, 
married a daughter of Col. Anthony Hutchins." 

A large brick house, built by Col. Thomas Marston 
Green, in 1790, is still standing, and is occupied by one of 
his descendants. Though built a hundred years ago it is 
still sound. The brick were manufactured on the place by 
the slaves of the owner. The timbers were all sawed by 
the laborious process of the whip-saw, known to the early 
pioneers, and every nail, and all the hinges for doors and 
window shutters, were manufactured in the blacksmith shop 
on the plantation. The lands are level for the most part, 
and very fertile, and though a portion has been in constant 
cultivation for one hundred and twelve years, the present 
occupant expects to make a bale of cotton to the acre 
year by year, and growls lustily if he does not secure the 
product he expects. On the oldest portion of the cultivated 
land, the present occupant made a bale and a half of cot- 
ton to the acre in the year 1889. 

In the year 1802, the seat of government was removed 
from Natchez to the town of Washington, six miles east 
of the former place. 

Governor Claiborne purchased, by authority from the 
War Department, fifty acres of land from Thomas Calvit, at 
$15.00 per acre, for a cantonment, some four hundred yards 
outside the corporate limits of the town of Washington, 
which became the camping place for all the United States 
troops in this quarter of the country. Lieutenants Win- 
field Scott and Edmund Pendleton Gaines, then young sub- 



188 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

alterns, were on duty there, and Major-General Wade 
Hampton, of the United States army, the grandfather of 
the late senator from South Carolina, was frequently seen 
at the Washington cantonment. It was here that Win- 
field Scott fought his first and only- duel. 

In 1802, Governor Claiborne established trading houses 
for the Indian tribes in Mississippi. The one for the Choc- 
taws was located on the Tombigbee river, and for the 
Chickasaws, near Fort Pickens. The first goods sent to 
the Choctaws were confided to Louis La Fleur, a native of 
Canada, and the father of Greenwood La Fleur, who later 
became chief of the Choctaw Nation. He became very 
wealthy, owned large tracts of valuable land and numerous 
slaves. He represented Carroll county in the Senate of 
Mississippi fifty years ago, and was a very intelligent and 
honorable man. He was in the Senate at the same time the 
late Benjamin G. Humphrej^s represented Claiborne county 
in that body. Greenwood Le Fleur left a large number of 
descendants. 

The following letter from the Hon. Edward Turner, a 
native of Fauquier county, Virginia, who migrated to 
Mississippi in the year 1801, gives the reader an insight 
into the character of the early settlers of our State; 
the men who gave tone to society, moral and political, and 
who laid the foundations deep and strong, of the moral and 
political structure which for so many years promoted the 
happiness as well as the material prosperity of the people. 
In his letter Judge Turner writes as follows : 

"When I first came to Natchez I brought a letter from 
General Green Clay, of Kentucky, to his uncle. Col. 
Thomas Green. This led to my intimacy with the Greens, 
^/ Hutchins, Wests and their extensive connections, and to 
my marriage with a daughter of Col. Cato West. General 
Clay (father of Cassius M.) had married my cousin. I was 
one of the aids of Governor Claiborne, and accom{)anied 
him and his stafi", all in full uniform, to review the regi- 
ments in the different counties. This was the first the peo- 
ple here knew of citizen soldiers. The Governor was a 
fine speaker, with a clear, ringing voice, very fluent and 
graceful, and the regiments forming into a square, he ad- 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 189 

dressed them very eloquently in regard to their rights and 
duties. Governor Sargent never could organize the militia, 
and few men would accept his commissions. 

"The Spaniards had no public schools in Natchez, and 
only one or two private tutors. In Governor Claiborne's 
time Jefferson College was incorporated. An association 
was formed in Jefferson county for the acquisition and dis- 
semination of useful knowledge. We held our meetings 
at Villa Gayoso. I delivered the lirst address, and it drew 
down on me the opposition of the whole Sargent party. 
A similar association was established in Natchez^ and ex- 
cellent scliools in each county.^' 

The "Villa Gayoso" referred to in the letter of Judge 
Turner, was in Jefferson county, not far from Cole's Creek, 
where Governor Gayoso built a chateau as a summer res- 
idence. The land on which this chateau was built was 
claimed by Everard Green, son of Col. Thomas Green, and 
is still in the possession of his descendants, and the old 
Green homestead still bears the name of "Gayoso." 

In 1802 Edward Turner was appointed clerk for Jefferson 
county in place of John Girault. 

In January of that year. Judge Tilton, one of the three 
Superior Judges of the Territory, left the district without 
permission, repaired to New Orleans, and from there de- 
parted for Europe on a commercial expedition. Governor 
Claiborne, in notifying the Secretary of State of the depar- 
ture of Judge Tilton, said : "This, I submit, is such an aban- 
donment as will authorize an immediate appointment, and 
1 recommend Daniel Kerr, Esq., of this Territory, a learned 
lawyer, and an upright man, who would fill this high office 
with credit." 

The gentleman recommended by the Governor was ap- 
pointed one of the judges, and in December the Governor 
wrote to the Secretary of State that "Mr. Kerr's appoint- 
ment has given much satisfaction to a large majority of 
the citizens. He is a valuable acquisition to the bench." 

The commission of John Steele as Secretary of the Terri- 
tory, having expired by limitation, Col. Cato West was 
appointed Secretary in his stead. 

On December 6, 1802, Col. Thomas Marston Green ap- 



190 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

peared as the successor of Hon. Narsworthy Hunter, de- 
ceased, in the Seventh Congress and was sworn in. 

In this year land offices were opened at Washington and 
at Fort Stoddart ; Edward Turner and Joseph Chambers, 
Registrars. Thomas Rodney, of Delaware, and Robert 
Williams, of North Carolina, were appointed Land Com- 
missioners for the district west of Pearl river, and Robert 
C. Nicholas and Ephraim Kirby, for the district east of the 
Pearl ; Isaac Briggs was appointed Surveyor-General. 

There was a good deal of excitement among the people 
of Mississippi at this period, in consequence of the un- 
friendly action of the Spanish authorities of Louisiana, in 
closing the port of New Orleans as a place of deposit for 
their products. This policy of the Spanish authorities was 
in violation of treaty stipulations, and produced much 
hostile feeling among the hardy toilers of the great west- 
ern territories, whose commerce was entirely at the mercy 
of the Spaniards, by their closing the port of New Orleans, 
and depriving them of a market for their products. 

As evidence of this state of unrest among the people 
of the Territory, Governor Claiborne wrote to the Secretary 
of State on December 18, 1802, "The port of New Orleans 
remains shut against the American deposite. American 
produce is permitted to be received by vessels lying in the 
middle of the stream, but the landing of produce is uncon- 
ditionally forbidden." On the third day of January, 1803, 
Governor Claiborne again writes to the Secretary : 

"The Spanish authorities in Louisiana are manifesting a 
marked hostility to the United States. The people of this 
Territory are greatly agitated by the suspension of the 
right of deposite (secured to us by the treaty) and by a 
recent order prohibiting intercourse between the citizens 
of the United States and the subjects of Spain. There is a 
deep feeling of resentment in Louisiana at the prohibition, 
kept down, for the present, by Spanish bayonets. We 
have in the Territory of Mississippi about two thousand 
militia, well organized, and we can easily take possession 
of New Orleans now ; but re-inforced by French troops, 
according to current rumors, it may be more difficult. It 
is my duty to apprise you that on the river coast, and in 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 191 

New Orleans itself, there are many persons who would 
muster under our flag the moment it is displayed. There 
are many vessels now lying at New Orleans, in the stream, 
waiting for freight, and several are now on their way to 
Natchez to load with cotton." 

Happily, these hostile sentiments were soon to be dis- 
pelled. Spain by a secret treaty had retroceded to 
France all her vast possessions in America, and France in 
turn, had sold to the United States, during Mr. JeflTerson's 
first administration, for the sum of $15,000,000, the mag- 
nificent territory watered by the Mississippi river and its 
numerous tributaries. 

On the 12th day of March, 1803, Governor Claiborne in- 
formed the Secretary of State that the " two Houses to day 
elected Dr. William Lattimore, of Natchez, delegate for 
the Territory. He is a young man of promising talents, 
and a firm and genuine republican." Col. Thomas Marston 
Green having declined further service in Congress. 

Governor Claiborne having been appointed a commis- 
sioner, in conjunction with General James Wilkinson, of 
the United States army, to receive Louisiana from the 
official appointed by the French government to make the 
transfer, left Natchez on the 2d day of December, 1803, for 
New Orleans, leaving Col. Cato West, the efficient Secre- 
tary of the Territory, in charge of affairs as Governor ad 
interim. 

The Governor was " escorted as far as Fort Adams by 
the Natchez artillery, the Natchez rifles, and a company 
of militia. Three companies of volunteers from Jefferson 
and Claiborne counties followed." The Governor received 
from the people many manifestations of their confidence 
and approval en route to Fort Adams, (where he met his 
co-commissioner. Gen. Wilkinson), with fervent wishes for 
the successful accomplishment of his object, and of his 
speedy return to Mississippi. This was not to be, however. 

On the 20th day of December, 1803, Louisiana was for- 
mally transferred by M. Lausat, the regularly authorized 
agent of the French Republic, and was as formally received 
by the accredited American commissioners, Messrs. Clai- 
borne and Wilkinson, and thus perished forever, the dream 



192 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

that La Salle, the earliest navigator of the Mississippi 
river, had so fondly cherished. 

There can be no question that Grovernor Claiborne pos- 
sessed the entire confidence of President Jefferson. For 
in addition to being appointed one of the Commissioners 
to receive Louisiana, he was immediately appointed by 
the President to administer the Province, with all the pow- 
ers and authority exercised by the former Spanish Captain 
Generals. He was also allowed to retain his office as Gov- 
ernor of Mississippi Territory, and to discharge the duties 
of both positions until an act was passed by Congress 
establishing the " Orleans Territory." 

On the 1st day of October, 1804, he was appointed Gov- 
ernor of Orleans Territory and relieved from duty as Gov- 
ernor of the Mississippi Territory. 

Governor Claiborne found Mississippi in a most dis- 
tressed condition. The people were dissatisfied with their 
local rulers, and torn with dissensions among themselves. 
By his wise and conservative course he healed all disen- 
sions, he satisfied the people, and left them contented. His 
administration promoted the prosperity of the Territory, 
increased its population, and largely advanced its agricul- 
tural and commercial wealth and importance. 

Among the latest appointments of Governor Claiborne 
were F. Lewis, Ransom Harwell, Wm. H. Hargrove, James 
Callier, and William Pierce, justices of the peace for 
Washington county. 

He also appointed Samuel Brooks, mayor of Natchez, 
with John Girault, Samuel Niel, and Joseph Newman, as 
aldermen ; P. A. Vandorn, marshal of the city, and Wm. 
NichoUs, sheriff of Adams county. 

The total population of the Mississippi Territory in the 
year 1800 was 8,850. 

Governor Claiborne retained his position as Governor of 
the Orleans Territory until Louisiana was admitted into the 
Union as a State. He was immediately elected Governor 
of Louisiana by the people. At the expiration of his term 
he was re-elected ; being no longer eligible to the guber- 
natorial office under the Constitution, he was elected by 
the Legislature to the Senate of the United States, but died 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 193 

before taking his seat in that body. He left numerous 
descendants, some of whom are still living in New Orleans, 
not one having proved unworthy of their distinguished 
and patriotic ancestor. 



13 



CHAPTER IX. 



MISSISSIPPI AS A TERRITORY. 
FROM 1805 TO 1809. 

EGBERT WILLIAMS, of North Carolina, was ap- 
pointed to succeed Governor Claiborne as Governor 
of the Mississippi Territory. He had been a member of 
Congress from his State, and had recently been acting as 
one of the commissioners to adjudicate the many conflict- 
ing land claims in the Territory of Mississippi. Governor 
Williams was not a man of any considerable ability and 
was not of a pleasing, conciliatory address. His manners 
were too peremptory and repellant to please the educated, 
intelligent and proud people he was sent to govern. The 
people of the Territory were anxious to have Col. Cato 
West, the able, efficient and popular Secretary of the Ter- 
ritory, appointed to the position of Governor, but then, as 
in these later years, it was thought proper to import a 
Governor from one of the older States . 

Governor Williams arrived at Washington, the then seat 
of the Territorial Government, January 26th, 1805, where 
he was welcomed by a public dinner presided over by 
Judge Rodney and Thomas H. Williams Judge Rodney 
was a native of Delaware, had been an officer in the revo- 
lutionary army, and was appointed a judge for the Terri- 
tory by President Jefferson. The village of Rodney, in 
Jefferson county, formerly known as Petit Gulf, and years 
ago an important shipping point on the Mississippi river, 
was named after this venerable and distinguished jurist. 

Thomas H. Williams, a North Carolinian by birth, came 
to the Territory in 1802, and achieved a wonderfully suc- 
cessful career. He was successively Secretary of the Board 
of Land Commissioners, acting Secretary of the Territory, 



HIST0RY ©F MISSISSIPPI. 1§5 

Register of the Land Office, Collecter of Customs at the 
port of New Orleans, and later a Senator in Congress from 
the State of Mississippi. Like his namesake, the then 
Governor, Mr. Williams was not a man of much ability, 
but, unlike his official superior, he was a gentleman ©f 
pleasing address and attractive manners. 

Col. Claiborne, in his volume, gives the annexed graphic 
pen picture of the town of Washington, the capital of 
Mississippi, as it existed at that day, and of the gay, re- 
lined and intelligent people wh© thronged its streets and 
brightened its hospitable h^mes : 

"The t^wn of Washington, six miles east of Natchez, in 
a rich, elevated and picturesque country, was then the 
seat of government. The Land Office, the Surveyor-Gen- 
eral's office, the office of the Commissioner of Claims, and 
the Courts of the United States, were all there. In the 
immediate vicinity was Fort Dearborn, and a permanent 
cantonment of United States troops. The high officials of 
the Territory made it their residence, and many gentlemen 
of fortune, attracted by its advantages, went there to re- 
side. There were three large hotels, and the i^cademical 
department of Jefferson College, established during the 
administration of Governor Claiborne, was in, successful 
operation. The society was highly cultivated and refined. 
The conflicting land titles had drawn there a crowd of law- 
yers, generally young men of fine attainments and bril- 
liant talents. The medical profession was equally well 
represented, at the head of which was Dr. Daniel Rawlings, 
a native of Calvert county, Maryland, a man of high 
moral character and exalted patriotism, eminent in his 
profession, and who, as a vigorous writer and acute rea- 
soner, had no superior and few equals. The immigration 
from Maryland, chiefly from Calvert, Prince George and 
Montgomery counties, consisted, for the most part, of edu- 
cated and wealthy planters, the Covingtons, Chews, Cal- 
vits, Wilkinsons, Gray sons, Freelands, Wailes, Bowies 
and Magruders ; and the Winstons, Dangerfields and 
others from Virginia, who for a long time gave tone to the 
society of the Territorial capital. It was a gay and fash- 
ionable place, compactly built for a mile or more from 



196 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

east to west, every hill in the neighborhood occupied by 
some gentleman's chateau. The presence of the military 
had its influence on society; punctilio and ceremon}^ parades 
and public entertainments were the features of the place. 
It was, of course, the haunt of politicians and office hun- 
ters ; the center of political intrigue; the point to which 
all persons in the pursuit of land or occupation first came. 
It was famous for its wine parties and its dinners, not un- 
frequently enlivened by one or more duels directly after- 
ward. Such was this now deserted and forlorn looking 
little village during the Territorial organization. In its 
forums there was more oratory, in its salo7is more wit and 
beauty than we have ever witnessed since, all now mould- 
ering, neglected and forgotten, in the desolate graveyard 
of the ancient capital of Mississippi." 

Governor Williams proceeded to appoint his military 
staff, which was composed of the following gentlemen : 
William Scott, chief of staff with the rank of colonel. 
William B. Shields and William Wooldridge, with the 
rank of major, and Dr. John F. Carmichael, as medical 
officer, with the rank of major. 

Major Shields was a native of Deleware, was a gentle- 
man of intellect, education, high character, and of unques- 
tioned courage and patriotism. He was a learned lawyer, 
a prominent and leading member of the Legislature, Attor- 
ney-General and Judge of the United States Court for the 
district of Mississippi, in all of which positions he 
acquitted himself with ability, dignity and impartiality. 
It was with the widow of Judge Shields that Sergeant S. 
Prentiss found his first home in Mississippi. The young 
pedagogue having learned that Mrs. Shields was looking 
for a tutor for her sons, visited "Rokeby," the name of the 
family mansion in Adams county, and made such a favor- 
able impression by his genial manners and evident capac- 
ity, that he was immediately employed and installed as 
tutor for her younger sons, the youngest of whom, Joseph 
Dunbar Shields, became the biographer of his gifted tutor, 
and in every line of this biography, there breathes the 
warmest admiration and affection of the pupil for his illus- 
trious tutor. 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 197 

Judge Shields left many descendants in Mississippi and 
Louisiana, of both sexes, not one of whom have ever dis- 
credited the name of their distinguished progenitor. 

Governor Williams issued his proclamation convening 
the legislature on the Ist day of July, 1805. 

The city of Natchez had been incorporated with what 
was thought to be ample powers in 1803, but at this session 
of the legislature these powers were greatly enlarged by 
the establishment of a mayor's court, having jurisdiction 
in all civil cases within the city to the amount of five han- 
dred dollars. The proceedings of this court produced 
great dissatisfaction among the people, which resulted in 
a public meeting condemning the court, and finally culmi- 
nated in a presentment by the grand jury of Adams 
county, as a "public nuisance." The Hon. Edward Turner 
in referring to this incident says : 'The court was highly 
useful and respectable, but its monthly terms were too 
summary for debtors, hence the outcry." 

During the year the Territory was greatly benefitted by 
treaties negotiated with the Cherokees, the Creeks and the 
Choctaws, by which the Indians conceded to the United 
States the privilege of opening roads through their respec- 
tive districts, thus affording facilities to immigrants desir- 
ing to enter Mississippi. 

In the first year of the administration of Governor Wil- 
liams, there was a border fcray on the dividing line of 
Mississippi and Louisiana (the thirty-first degree of north 
latitude) between the people residing above and below that 
line, but it did not amount to much, and very soon quiet 
was entirely restored. 

In the year 1806 there came rumors to New Orleans and 
Natchez that the Spaniards in Mexico were encroaching on 
our border west of the Sabine river. This immediately 
aroused the martial spirit of the people of the Territory. 
General Wilkinson was moving with a body of United 
States troops and volunteers to attack and drive back the 
Spaniards, and the Natchez Herald of October 7, 1806, con- 
tained the following announcement : 

"A detachment of two hundred and fifteen dragoons and 
mounted infantry, under the command of Major Ferdinand 



198' HISTORY OB' MISSISSIPPI. 

L. Claiborne, crossed the Mississippi at this city on Sun- 
day last, on their march to Natchitoches, Louisiana, to 
assist General Wilkinson in repulsing the Spanish troops 
from within our limits. The officers commanding the sev- 
eral companies are Captains Benjamin Farrar, George 
Poindexter, Alexander Bisland, Basil Abrams, William T. 
Voss and Ralph Regan. 

A company of dragoons from Jefferson county under the 
command of Captain Thomas Hinds, will march in a few 
days to join the battalion at Natchitoches, likewise a com- 
pany of mounted infantry from Wilkinson county." 

The following is given in the Herald as the field and 
staff of the battalion: Ferdinard L. Claiborne, Major; 
Thomas H. Williams, Captain, Adjutant and Quarter 
Master; Frederic Seip, Surgeon; Heritage Howerton, 
Quarter Master's Sergeant; Joshua Knowlton, Sergeant 
Major. 

This expedition gained no laurels, for the reason that 
they saw no enemy, and there was no fighting and no occa- 
sion for the display of martial courage. 

These returned soldiers were soon to witness a great ex- 
citement, and to be participants in a mighty "tempest in a 
tea pot." 

Cowles Mead had been appointed Secretary of the Mis- 
sissippi Territory soon after Robert Williams was made 
Governor. He was a Virginian by birth, had removed to 
Georgia at an early age, studied law, was admitted to the 
bar, and when he was barely eligible, was a candidate for 
Congress. He was given a certificate of election, but on a 
contest was unseated by a vote of sixty-two to fifty-two. 
Cowles Mead was a handsome and educated gentleman, a 
fluent conversationalist, and a most exuberant speaker 
before the public and on all occasions. Whenever he 
found it necessary to make a speech, no matter what the 
subject was, his imagination and fancy were sure to wan- 
der through a maze of brilliant and fanciful tropes and 
metaphors. It goes without saying, that he was more 
brilliant than profound, and if he did not convince his audi- 
tors by the compactness of his arguments, or the power of 
his logic, he assuredly bewildered them with the most as- 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 199 

tonishing lingual pyrotechnic displays ever witnessed in the 
Territory of Mississippi before or since his advent into it. 

The air was thick with rumors in reference to a myste 
rious expedition under the control of Col. Aar^n Burr, a 
former Vice-President of the United States. He was 
assumed to be at the head of a large party with hostile 
designs against the Union, or against Mexico, with which 
country the government of the United States was then at 
peace. President Jefferson had already issued a proclama- 
tion, bearing date November 17, 1806, calling public notice 
to an unlawful expedition "reported to be in preparation." 

Governor Williams had left the Territory in April on a 
visit ':o North Carolina, leaving Secretary Mead in charge 
as Governor ad interim. This was the opportunity of his 
life, and he proceeded to make the most of it. Proclama- 
tions, orders and dispatches, fell from the acting Governor 
as thick and fast as ''leaves in Valambrosa." His first 
proclamation bore date December 23, 1806, and was well 
calculated to "fright the isle from its propriety." "Gen- 
eral orders" for the assembling of the military of the Ter- 
ritory were issued December 25th (Christmas day). Under 
these orders the military of Adams county were to assem- 
ble at Washington on the 20th day of January, 1807. The 
troops of Jefferson county on January 10, at Greenville ; 
those of Claiborne, at Port Gibson (then known as "Gib- 
son's Port"), on January 12th, and "the Fifth Regiment at 
Piercy's plantation," on January 17th. These orders were 
issued from general headquarters at the seat of the Terri- 
torial Government, and each bore the talismanic words, 
"by order of the Commander in-Chief." 

Acting Governor Mead, on the evening of the 18th of 
January, 1807, wrote and sent the following startling dis- 
patch to Col. F. L. Claiborne, in command at Natchez, six 
miles distant : 

Executive Office, 8 p.m. 

"Col.: Business of the first importance requires your 
presence at headquarters. Repair here at midnight ! Let 
not suspicion even conjecture where you are bound. The 
fate of the country may depend on my movements." 

The next day, January 14th, the Governor again ad- 
dressed Col. Claiborne at Natchez: 



200 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

"More rumors tell us that Burr is reinforcing at Bayou 
Pierre. My solicitude will induce me to repair there forth- 
with. You will, therefore, send to Greenville, by carts or 
pack-horses, one thousand pounds of powder, and as 
much lead as you can spare. To-morrow, at day-break, I 
shall leave here with Farrar's dragoons. I have issued or- 
ders to the militia of Jefferson and Claiborne counties to 
rendezvous at their respective places of parade, at which 
I shall be present, on my way to Bayou Pierre. The 
militia of this (Adams) county you will order to rendez- 
vous at some point selected by yourself, to await further 
orders." 

The same day, at 3 p.m., the Governor again wrote to 
Col. Claiborne at Natchez : 

"In reply to your request to march at once, I think it 
imprudent until I am better informed of the views and 
strength of Burr. I have dispatched an express to Col. 
Fitzpatrick, (commanding Jefferson county regiment), yes- 
terday evening, which should reach that officer last night. 
Major Bowman left headquarters this morning for Bayou 
Pierre, with all the orders and powers he may deem 
proper to employ. I wish you to collect and organize the 
first regiment and attend strictly to their discipline. 
Should Burr establish himself at Bayou Pierre in force, we 
shall require the Wilkinson county militia. You will post- 
pone your march until I am informed from above ; but, at 
the same time, continue to call out and equip every man of 
your regiment who can shoulder a tire-lock. I shall de- 
tain Captain Abrams an hour or two. Am anxious to hear 
from above before I move." 

The cause of all this eruption of proclamations, orders 
and dispatches, on the part of Governor Mead, was the 
arrival at a point opposite — on the Louisiana shore — to 
the mouth of Bayou Pierre, of Col. Aaron Burr, early in 
the month of January, 1807, with nine flat-boats. Col. 
Burr crossed the river to the residence of Judge Bruin, 
whom he had known as an officer of the Continental army, 
and learned that the Territorial authorities would oppose 
his descent. He at once wrote to Governor Mead, as Clai- 
borne tells us, "disavowing any hostile intentions towards 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 201 

the Territory or the country ; that he was en route to the 
Ouachita to colonize his lands, and that any attempt to 
obstruct him would be illegal, and might provoke civil 
war. On the 15th, after having issued multitudinous or- 
ders and dispatches, Governor Mead and staff arrived at 
Greenville, (then the county seat of Jefferson county), and 
thence repaired to the mouth of Cole's Creek, where Col. 
Fitzpatrick and Col. Fleharty were stationed, it having 
been determined to guard the river and intercept Burr's 
flotilla at that point. Here Governor Mead addressed the 
troops, and dispatched his aids, Hon. George Poindexter 
and Hon. Wm. B. Shields, to interview Col. Burr. They 
were accompanied by Col. Fitzpatrick. On the 16th they 
reached the bank opposite the boats, and in response to 
their signal, a skiff was sent over for them. They were re- 
ceived by Col. Burr, to whom Major Shields presented a 
letter from Governor Mead. Col. Burr, in a sneering tone, 
ridiculed the suspicion of his entertaining views hostile to 
the country ; declared that he should have proceeded di- 
rectly to Natchez to call on the Governor, but for the in- 
mation received at Bayou Pierre, and the fear of assassi- 
nation." 

"Col. Burr pointed to his boats and asked if there was 
anything military in their appearance. He was then dis- 
tinctly notified that the Mississippi troops had been assem- 
bled to oppose his further progress. He replied that he 
was willing to submit to the civil authorities and proposed 
an interview with Governor Mead the next day, at some 
convenient point ; that the commissioners should guaran- 
tee his personal safety and return him to his boats, if the 
Governor should not accept his terms ; that his boats and 
men should hold the position they then occupied until the 
proposed conference was over, and that in the meantime, 
they should not be molested, nor should any breach of the 
peace, on either side, be committed. This proposition was 
accepted, and the house of Thomas Calvit, near the mouth 
of Cole's Creek, where Col. Claiborne, in command of the 
military, was stationed, was designated for the interview. 
The commissioners then took their leave, much impressed 



202 HISTORY OK MISSISSIPPI. 

by the nonchalance , grace, suavity and talent of this ex- 
traordinary man. 

"In pursuance of this agreement, next morning Col. 
Burr, attended by Col. Fitzpatrick, descended to the mouth 
of Cole's Creek, whence he was escorted by Captain David- 
son's Jefferson dragoons to Mr. Calvit's. Governor Mead 
had arrived the previous evening, where he had received 
the following note from Col. Claiborne, commanding at the 
mouth of Cole's Creek : i 

"Our last advices from the mouth of Bayou Pierre induce 
us to believe that Col. Burr's object is delay. The officers 
of the corps now here, unanimously join me in declaring 
our ability to carry out all orders, and in praying you to 
accept no terms but unconditional surrender." 

On the arrival of Col. Burr, Governor Mead immediately 
proposed : 

1st. That the agreement entered into should be annulled. 

2d. That Burr should surrender unconditionally to the 
civil authority, and be conducted forthwith to the town of 
Washington, the seat of Government of the Territory. 

3d. That his boats should be searched, and all arms and 
munitions of war found therein, be seized and submitted to 
the disposition of the government." 

To these terms Governor Mead required an unequivocal 
answer in fifteen minutes, with the understanding that if 
Burr declined, he should be forthwith returned to his boats, 
and the military would then be ordered to capture him and 
his party. The terms were accepted. Col. Burr, however, 
protested against being suffered, in any way, to fall into 
the hands of General Wilkinson. He received satisfactory 
assurances on this point, and immediately set out for the 
town of Washington, escorted by Majors Shields and 
Poindexter. 

Col. Burr presented himself before Judge Rodney, and 
gave his recognizance in the sum of $5,000, with Col. Beni- 
jah Osman and Lyman Harding, Esq., as sureties for his 
appearance at a called session of the Superior Court, to be 
held on the 2d day of February, and from day to day until 
discharged by the court. 

On the first day of the term Col. Burr was present with 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 203 

Ms attorneys, Major Wm. B. Shields and Lyman Harding, 
Esq., ready to answer to any indictment that might be pre- 
sented against him. "Agreeably to a 'oenire facias issued 
by the Hon. Thomas Rodney and the Hon. Peter B. Bruin, 
a jury of seventy- two freeholders appeared in court, and 
on the day following twenty- three of their number were 
selected by the court as a grand inquest. The Hon. Thomas 
Rodney then delivered to them a comprehensive and impres- 
sive charge, and the court was then adjourned until ten 
o'clock the succeeding day, at which time the Hon. George 
Poindexter, the Attorney- General for the Territory, moved 
the court for the discharge of the grand jury. Mr. Poindex- 
ter made this motion on the ground ihat in the depositions 
submitted to him by the court, he found no testimony which 
brought the offences charged against Col. Burr within the 
jurisdiction of the courts of the Mississippi Territory. He 
further stated that in order to secure the public safety, the 
Territorial judges ought immediately to convey the accused 
to a tribunal competent to try and punish him, if guilty of 
the charges alleged against him. He hoped, therefore, that 
inasmuch as the attorne}^ prosecuting for ihe United States 
had no bills for the consideration of the grand jury, that 
they would be discharged. Judge Bruin declared against 
the discharge of the grand jury, unless Col. Burr was also 
discharged from his recognizance. The Attorney-General 
then withdrew, and the grand jury were directed to retire 
to their room, and in the course of the day returned sundry 
presentments. Among those there were none against Col. 
Burr, but there was one inveighing against Governor Mead 
and the military authorities. On Wednesday evening the 
grand jury was discharged, and Col. Burr demanded a 
release from his recognizance, which the court refused. He 
did not appear in court Thursday morning, as was expected, 
and in a day or two it was ascertained that the bird had 
Hown." 

Governor Williams, who returned about this time from 
North Carolina, resumed the discharge of his official duties, 
and on the 6th day of February, 1807, issued his proclama- 
tion offering a reward of two thousand dollars for the 
apprehension of Aaron Burr, and his delivery to the Gov- 



204 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

ernor of the Mississippi Territory, at the Capital thereof, 
or to the President of the United States. 

Col. Burr was arrested near Fort Stoddard, in what is 
now the State of Alabama, and was sent under a guard to 
the National Capital, at Washington, D. C. He was sub- 
sequently tried at Richmond, Virginia, and the world 
knows the result of that trial. 

There was then, and still is, great diversity of opinion as 
to the ultimate purposes of Col. Burr. That he proposed 
a dismemberment of the Union is now generally regarded 
as erroneous. He probably intended to wrest the great 
province of Texas from the Spanish government, thus 
doing what was accomplished by the Austins, the Whar- 
tons, Houstons and their companions, some thirty years 
later. He probably had ulterior objects in view. He may 
have dreamed of making himself the emperor of Mexico, 
and ruling over an immense territory, in the halls where 
the ancient Aztecs reigned and revelled. Able, ambitious, 
eloquent and fascinating, with a courage which had been 
many times tested, it is not surprising that he should have 
had such dreams. Having reached almost the highest 
honor in his own country , with the great ability and the 
courage that he unquestionably possessed, there were no 
bounds to what he might succeed in attaining. 

The story of Aaron Burr, — the grandson of Jonathan 
Edwards, the first president of Princeton College, — him- 
self a distinguished soldier in the great struggle for inde- 
pendence ; then the Vice-President of the United States, 
under Thomas Jeflferson ; his duel with Alexander Hamil- 
ton, in which he was fated to kill his ambitious and intel- 
lectual rival ; his subsequent arrest and trial for treason ; 
his wanderings in Europe in poverty and want, constantly 
under the surveillance of the officials of the American 
government, forms one of the saddest and most pathetic 
episodes in the history of America. Col. Burr was no 
saint, nor was his great rival Alexander Hamilton ; neither 
was his persistent and powerful enemy, Thomas Jefferson, 
the immortal author of the declaration of independence. 
Bach of these great men were not exempt from the weak- 
ness inherent in all men of woman born. 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 205 

In every position in which Aaron Burr was placed, 
whether as a soldier in the American army, a leading fac- 
tor in the political affairs of the country, as Vice-President 
of the United States, and almost reaching the first place in 
the government ; or as an exile and fugitive, poor and 
friendless in Europe, pursued by the satellites of a power 
hostile to him, he never ceased to bear himself with a 
dignity that became one of his lineage, his courage and his 
intellect. 

Claiborne, in his volume, weaves a romantic story of 
Col. Burr, when under recognizance to appear before the 
Supreme Court of the Territory. It appears that he made 
his home at the residence of Col. Benijah Osmun, one of 
his bondsmen, and very near the residence of Major Isaac 
Gruion, each of whom had served in the army with, and 
knew him well. Claiborne tells the story thus : 

"Col. Osmun lived at the place now owned by Dr. Stan- 
ton, and Major Guion resided at the foot of the Half-way 
Hill, and there was a rural path between the two places 
trellised with vines and shaded by evergreens. This was 
Burr's daily resort. But its refreshing shade and charm- 
ing prospect were not the only attractions. There lived at 
the time, near the summit of the hill in a little vine- 
covered cottage, a widow lady from Virginia whose small 
farm and two or three slaves were tbe only remains of a 
large fortune. Her husband had converted his property 
into money, and on his way to this Territory had been 
robbed and murdered. The family were Catholics. She 
had but one child, Madeline, who must still be remembered 
by a few of our older citizens as a miracle of beauty. In 
form and feature, in grace and modesty, she was all that 
the old masters have pictured the divine Madonna, or that 
artists ever dreamed of maiden loveliness. Those who saw 
her loved her, yet she was never conscious of the sentiment 
until she listened to Aaron Burr. 

"After canvassing his situation with Col. Osmun and 
six other confidential friends, Col. Burr determined to for- 
feit his bond- One stormy night in February, 1807, he 
set forth mounted on the favorite horse of his host. 
Urgent as was the necessity for expedition, Col. Burr halt- 



206 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

ed until daylight at the widow's cottage, imploring the 
beautiful Madeline to be the companion of ^is flight. 
He promised marriage, fortune, high position, and even 
hinted at imperial honors, not realizing, even then, a 
a fugitive and branded traitor, the crushing downfall that 
impended over him. The maiden had given him her heart ; 
she had listened to his witchery night after night, and 
loved him with all the fervor of a Southern nature. She 
would have followed him to the end of the earth, and to 
the scaffold, and her aged mother would freely have given 
her to this most captivating man, for they looked on him 
as a demigod, but as with most of our Southern women, 
the principles of religion, virtue and propriety were 
stronger than prepossession and passion, and the entreaties 
of the accomplished libertine were iirmly rejected. Baf- 
fled and disappointed he was compelled to proceed, but 
promised to return, and carried with him the covenant and 
pledge of the beautiful Madeline. She was wooed by 
many a lover. The young and gallant masters of the 
large plantations on Second Creek and St. Catherine's 
strove in vain for her hand. Fortunes and the homage of 
devoted hearts were laid at her feet ; but the maid of the 
Half-way Hill remained true to her absent lover ; the more 
so because of the rumors that reached her of his misfor- 
tunes and his guilt. She lived on the recollections of his 
manly beauty, and the shades he had most affected were 
her constant haunts. At length, when he fled from the 
United States, pursued by Mr. Jefferson and the remorse- 
less agents that swarm around power and authority, when 
he had been driven from England, and was an outcast in 
Paris, shivering with cold and starving for bread, he seems 
to have felt for the first time, the utter hopelessness of his 
fortunes. And then he wrote to Madeline, and, in a few 
formal words, released her from her promise. Stating that 
he would never return to the United States, he advised her 
to enter a convent, should she survive her mother. A year 
or two after this, she went to Havana with Mrs. W., a 
highly respectable lady who then owned the property 
where the Christian Brothers now reside, near Natchez. 
Her extreme beauty, her grace and elegance, produced the 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 207 

greatest enthusiasm. The hotel where they put up was 
beseiged. If she appeared on the balcony a dozen cava- 
liers were waiting to salute her. When her volante was 
seen on the Pasco or the Plaza deArmas^ it was escorted by 
the grandees of the Island. She vf2i^ feted by the Gover- 
nor General ; serenades and balls followed in rapid succes- 
sion, and the daily homage to her beauty never ceased until 
the evening bells sounded the Angelus. 

"Without surrendering her heart, or being carried away 
by this universal admiration, she returned to the cottage 
on the Half-way Hill. She was followed there by Mr. K., 
an English gentleman, the head of the largest commercial 
house in Havana, and to him, on his second visit, she gave 
her hand. 

"The vine-covered cottage, its trellises and borders have 
crumbled into dust. The courtly lover and the innocent 
maiden are long since dead. But the old hill still lifts its 
aged brow wrinkled all over with traditions. A favorite 
lookout of the Natchez Indians in time of war. The scene 
of a daring conspiracy against the Spanish authority, the 
rendezvous of lovers, the hiding place for brigands, and a 
depot for their blood-stained treasure, mute, but faithful 
witness of the past." 

Those who have read the eloquent speech of William 
Wirt, in the trial of Aaron Burr at Richmond, Virginia, 
and who have admired the fanciful and beautiful descrip- 
tion of Mrs. Blannerhassett, in her romantic home on an 
island in the Ohio river, will doubtless remember that he 
pictured Herman Blannerhassett as the deluded dupe and 
victim of the wiles of Col. Burr. He tells us how that 
arch conspirator entered the beautiful home of the Blan- 
nerhassetts, and led the head of that home to his ruin. Mr. 
Wirt was a most eloquent orator, and his imagination was 
never at fault in the supply of facts suited to the occasion. 
Some fifty years ago, the question of "who was Blanner- 
hassett?" was much mooted in the public journals of the 
day, and in response to this general inquiry, a writer, who 
appears to be posted with authentic facts, sent to the 
Louisville. Kentucky, Register, and had published the fol- 
lowing account of the man and the woman whom Wil- 



208 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

Ham Wirt described in such glowing language, making 
them as famous as himself. Those who have read his elo- 
quent delineation of Blannerhassett and his " lovely wife" 
may read with interest an account of them from the pen 
of a colder and more impartial witness. The writer says : 

•'Having lately seen in the New York and Philadelphia 
papers several fictitious notices of this celebrated person- 
age, is the apology which the writer of this article offers 
for giving what he believes to be the true history of this 
man's career, and final exit from the troubles of this 
world, which will be much easier to do than to write a 
highly colored picture of things which never existed, ex- 
cept in the fancy cf some novel writer. The authority for 
the facts herein disclosed by the writer, is believed to be 
authentic, and of the highest character. 

"In the first place, who was Blannerhassett ? In answer 
to this question, our information is that it was a name 
assumed by an individual whose true name was Lewis 
Carr, who was born in Ireland, as has always been stated. 
His family was highly respectable, and an older brother 
tilled the station of Secretary to the Governor of Calcutta, 
in the East Indies, to which place young Lewis went as an 
ensign, in the engineer department, where he remained 
about two years, in which time he was engaged in several 
scrapes and intrigues, which finally compelled him to re- 
sign his commission and seek a place of refuge in the city 
of Kingston, in the Island of Jamaica, where, he read 
law and commenced the practice, and also engaged in mer- 
chandizing, by which means, and a secret connection with 
the buccaneers and pirates who hovered around the West 
India Islands, and on the coast of Mexico, he amassed a 
splendid fortune, which he spent with equal profusion. 
While employed in this business, he frequently visited 
Mexico, and became acquainted with many of the leading 
men who were preparing the way for a revolution, which 
Carr foresaw must break out in a short time, and being a 
bold, unprincipled intriguer, he was perpetually engaged 
in difficulties of one kind or another. An intrigue with 
the wife of one of the wealthiest citizens of Kingston hav- 
ing made the place too hot for him, he sold out his prop- 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 209 

erty and came to the United States, landed at New Orleans, 
and from thence went to Louisville, Kentucky, where, or in 
that section, he purchased some property, and finally 
located himself or the celebrated island in the Ohio river, 
near Marietta. This move took place about the year 1803 
or 1804. When he reached New Orleans, he assumed the 
name of Blannerhassett. The beautiful and accomplished 
woman who accompanied and lived with him, was not his 
lawful wife ; she had been the mistress of a high-born 
personage, and had many fascinating accomplishments, 
which made her more worthy of Blannerhassett than he 
was of her. Col. Burr first saw Blannerhassett early in the 
year 1805, and instead of Burr's seducing him, there can 
be no doubt Col. Burr received from him such an account 
of Mexico, its wealth and disposition for revolution as se- 
duced him, into the project of invading it ; and the question 
as to who should be the great man, was one reserved by 
Lewis Carr, (Blannerhassett,) until future events should de- 
velop themselves. Carr always declared to his friends that 
he intended Col. Burr as the military commander who was 
to advance him to the supreme command in Mexico. The 
movements of Col. Burr and Blannerhassett in the United 
States during the years 1805 and 1806 are already known, 
and, of course, need not be detailed in this statement. 

"After the projected invasion in Mexico had failed, and 
Blannerhassett had broken up at his island, he returned to 
New Orleans, where he left the woman who had been his 
companion, and he embarked for the Island of New Prov- 
idence, one of the Bahamas, in the West Indies, and set- 
tled at Nassau, its capital, and recommenced the practice 
of law. In a short time he obtained a lucrative practice, 
and married a lady of one of the most respectable fami- 
lies in that place, and was soon disturbed by a visit from 
his Blannerhassett companion, who gave him much trouble 
before he could get her to retire in peace, which she did, 
and soon after returned to the United States, and is now 
believed to be a resident of one of the Southern States. 

''When he settled in Nassau, he resumed his true name 
of Lewis Carr, and soon acquired a handsome living ; but 

his restless spirit and intriguing disposition kept him con- 
14 



210 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

stantly involved in difficulties, and his treatment of his 
wife was cruel in the extreme ; yet, by taking sides with 
the government, he was elected to the Assembly of the 
Bahamas, and was chosen its Speaker about 1829. This 
was his last elevation to notice ; his treatment of his wife 
and his continual debaucheries and seditions, as no money 
which he could command ever stopped his progress, dur- 
ing the years 1831 and 1832, he became so embarrassed 
that he was obliged to leave the island, and once more re- 
turned to Kingston, in Jamaica, from which place in 1833 
he once more returned to the United States, and landed at 
Philadelphia under his true name, Lewis Carr, when, it is 
believed, that he, for the last time, visited Col. Burr, and 
soon after was taken sick and died in obscurity in the city 
of Philadelphia. At least, this is the belief of his wife 
and his friends at Nassau. 

"Thus ended the life of this bold and restless spirit, 
which, from his entrance on public life until his death, was 
one continual scene of adventures. The years he lived at 
Nassau'were filled up with intrigues of a personal charac- 
ter, but from the time he left the United States in 1807, un- 
til 1833, he never resided at any other place than the Island 
of Providence. 

"Our informant was the vice-consul of the United States, 
who lives on one of the Salt-Key, Bahama Islands, who 
read law with Blannerhassett, and was afterwards his 
partner for near twenty years, where he passed under his 
true name of Lewis Carr, and often told him this history 
of his life and connection with Col. Burr, So that the 
writer of this article, who was in Kingston, Jamaica, and 
at Salt-Key Island, last summer, for nearly a week, has no 
doubt of the truth of the foregoing narrative. The facts 
and circumstances of his connection with Col. Burr were 
fully detailed, and there was no room to doubt that Mr. 
Blannerhassett was really and truly Lewis Carr. He is not 
now in France, neither did he ever live in Montreal. M." 

The foregoing letter was written and published in 1840, 
a full half century ago, and it bears internal evidence of 
the truth of the statements it makes. The reader of these 
pages will agree with us that this letter strips from the 



HISTOET OF MISSISSIPPI. 211 

beautiful speecli of Mr. Wirt Ms exaggerated and exu- 
berant description of Blannerliassett and his wife, which, 
lacking in the essential element of truth, is lacking in 
everything. 

Before taking leave of Blannerhassett ftnally, we should 
observe that he arrived at Natchez either in January or 
February, 1807, when the Territory was so much excited 
by the Burr episode. He was ultimately sent to Rich- 
mond and was there discharged, after which he returned 
to Mississippi, and purchased a plantation in Claiborne 
county, near the town of Port Gibson, which he called 
La Cache, which was once owned by the brothers, Samuel 
and John Cobun, and their heirs probably still own it. 

General Cowles Mead, as he was subsequently called, 
considered the capture of Aaron Burr as the crowning 
glory of his life, and never wearied of rehearsing the 
story. He had not only organized live regiments of infan- 
try and cavalry in order to repel the invasion of Burr, but 
General Wilkinson had sufficient influence with Commo- 
dore Shaw, in command of the naval forces in the vicinity 
of New Orleans to induce that officer to concentrate eight 
war vessels, carrying in all fifty guns, at Natchez to inter- 
cept, capture or destroy the formidable flotilla of flat boats, 
assumed to be coming down the river under the orders of 
Colonel Burr, General Mead, whom this writer knew in the 
latter years of his life, was a man of intelligence and edu- 
cation, of great amiability and courtesy, of manly, frank 
and generous nature, but he suffered from a chronic attack 
of vanity in its most aggravated form. This weakness he 
shared in common with many men of more powerful in- 
tellects than he possessed, and if vanity is a fault, in 
man or woman, it certainly is a most harmless one. It 
makes the possessor happy, and injures no other human 
being. General Mead has been dead for more than forty 
years, and his mortal remains lie mouldering in the soil of 
Mississippi where he spent the best portion of a long and 
honorable life. 

By an act of Congress, "approved January 9, 1808," the 
people of the Territory of Mississippi were authorized to 
elect their delegate to Congress, a function that heretofore 



212 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

had been devolved upon the Territorial Legislature. This 
change was gladly welcomed by the people generally, and 
more especially by aspiring and ambitious gentlemen who 
longed to serve their country, and who saw a more ex- 
tended and inviting field spread out before them. 

The people of the Territory were greatly disturbed for 
several years by the various and conflicting titles to land, 
emanating from English and Spanish grants. Many of 
these latter, it was alleged, had been issued after the ces- 
sion of Spain co the United States, and antedated to give 
them the appearance of verity. 

Two parties had arisen in the Territory, one in favor of 
dividing it into two, and the other bitterly opposing the 
division. The first party was composed almost exclusively 
of gentlemen residing east of Pearl river, in the settle- 
ments on the Tombigbee, and in that portion of the Terri- 
tory now comprised within the State of Alabama. These 
gentlemen thought they had good cause to be jealous of 
the western portion of the Territory, for the reason that 
the men of the west, living on or near the Mississippi, had 
thus far monopolized the Territorial offices and dignities, 
but Mr. Lattimore, who was then the delegate in Congress 
from the Territory, opposed the scheme for division, and 
it failed, as it should have done. 

The Territory during the past four years was constantly 
improving in prosperity, and the population was steadily 
increasing, but there was no increase in the popularity of 
Governor Williams. On the contrary, he was becoming 
daily more unpopular. Claiborne tells us : "He was a man 
of peculiar temper, not of conciliatory address, very ob- 
stinate in his prejudices and never knew when to yield." 

In the month of March, 1809, President Madison ap- 
pointed David Holmes Grovernor of the Mississippi Terri- 
tory, in lieu of Robert Williams, removed. 



CHAPTER X. 



MISSISSIPPI AS A TERRITORY, 
FROM 1809 TO 1817. 

DAVID HOLMES was appointed Governor of the Mis- 
sissippi Territory, vice Robert Williams, removed, 
by President Madison, in March, 1809, and reached his 
post of duty in the early summer of that year. The newly 
appointed Governor was a native of Virginia, and had had 
twelve years experience in public life, as a representative 
in Congress from his native district in that State. His ap- 
pointment as Governor of this distant Territory induced 
many of his Virginia friends to remove to Mississippi, and 
take up their residence in this fertile region. The emi- 
grants from the old dominion, "included," as Col. Clai- 
borne declares, "the Thrustons, the Dangerfields, the Gil- 
darts, the Conrads, the Starks, the Norions," and many 
others of high character. 

Col. Claiborne pays the following just tribute to Gov- 
ernor Holmes : 

"He discharged his executive duties with ability, firmness 
and tact. He assuaged the violence of party by the sua- 
vity of his manners, the blandness of his temper, and his 
inflexible official and personal integrity. He had no 
enemies. The Indian war and the British war occurred 
during his administration, and, of course, greatly aug- 
mented his responsibilities. Immense amounts of public 
money passed through his hands, but his early^business 
training enabled him to keep everything straight." 

The administration of Governor Holmes, extending 
over more than eight years, was a most eventful one. 
During the period of his rule in the Territory, a great war 
between the United States and England, then as now, one 
of the most powerful and warlike nations on earth, was 



214 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

ragiDg. England was the unchallenged mistress of the 
ocean. Her wooden walls, flaunting the all-conquering red 
cross of St. George, plowed the waters of every sea, and 
her proud ensign was displayed in every clime. The 
country was not only engaged in a great war, but the peo- 
ple over whom he was called to rule, few in numbers, feeble, 
and but for their own stout hearts and strong arms, well 
nigh defenceless, were surrounded on every hand by blood- 
thirsty and implacable Indian foes. 

Tecumseh, the most renowned warrior of the Shawnee 
Indians, living north of the Ohio, and brother of the 
celebrated "Prophet" of the same tribe, had recently 
visited the Choctaws, the Creeks and the Seminoles, and 
by his fiery and impassioned oratory had aroused those 
tribes to the highest pitch of excitement and resentment. 
The Spaniards still retained possession of Mobile and 
Pensacola, and were more than willing to furnish the 
Indians with arms aod ammunition, and ever ready by the 
wiles they perfectly understood, to increase the discontent 
of the red men, and to inflame their hearts with animosity 
against their American neighbors. 

The men of Mississippi, inured to danger and hardship 
almost from the cradle, sprung to arms on the instant, for 
the defence of their homes, their wives, their children and 
their sweethearts. No nobler example of a free, proud 
and heroic race, was ever presented than the alacrity with 
which these resolute men rallied to the defence of all they 
held dear. Every county in the Territory responded to the 
call of duty. Every neighborhood furnished its quota. 
Gray -haired sires and their stripling sons rushed to the 
front, armed with their unerring rifles. The poetic idea of 
Sir Walter Scott in reference to the the Highland Chief, 
Roderick Duh, and his faithful and hardy followers, was 
fully realized in that hour of danger and of dread. Sir 
Walter tells us that when the shrill whistle of Roderick 
Dhu was heard, 

"Instant from copse and heath arose 
Bonnets and spears and bended bows!" 

The first sound of the trumpet called the men of Missis- 
sippi to arms, prepared to die if need be, in defence of 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 215 

their homes and their loved ones. Claiborne in his volume 
furnishes the roster of the officers commanding the troopg. 
of the Territory, and it is gladly transferred to these 
pages : 

On the 16th of July, 1812, Governor Holmes, on a requi- 
sition from General Wilkinson, ordered a draft of the mili- 
tia, a certain quota from each regiment, to rendezvous at 
Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to be organized into a brigade. 
Col. Ferdinand Leigh Claiborne was commissioned Briga- 
dier-General to command them. 

On the 18th of August, less than thirty days after the 
order had been generally known, General Claiborne re- 
ported to the Governor that the entire quota from the Ist, 
2d, 3d, 4th, 10th, 11th, and 13th regiments had been m- 
rolled from volunteers. 

) This brigade of Mississippi volunteers was held in a state 
of inaction at Baton Rouge, until June 28th, 1813. On that 
date General Claiborne moved with his command, and the 
following is the roster of the officers : 

Brigadier-General F. L. Claiborne, with Captain Joseph 
P. Kennedy and Lieutenant Alexander Calvit, as staff 
officers. Joseph Carson, Colonel; George T. Ross, Lieu- 
tenant Colonel ; Daniel Beasley, Major; Wm. R. Deloach, 
Lieutenant and Adjutant ; Benjamin F. Savage, Lieutenant 
and Quartermaster ; John Ker, Surgeon, and B. F. Harney 
and Wm. R. Cox, Assistant Surgeons. 

The following were the company commanders : Captains 
John Nelson, Joseph P. Kennedy, Louis Pambeuf, Phillip 
A. Engle, Archilaus Wells, Randal Jones, William Jack, 
Gerard C. Brandon, Abram M. Scott, (each of these two gen- 
tlemen became Governor after Mississippi was admitted 
into the Union,) Wm. C. Mead, Benjamin Dent, Hatton Mid-' 
dleton, James Foster; L. V. Foelkil, Charles G. Johnson 
and Hans Morrison. 

Lieutenants, James Bailey, Richardson Bowman, Audly 
L. Osborne, Wm. Morgan, George P. Lilly, John D. Rod- 
gers, Theron Kellogg, Andrew Montgomery, John Camp 
John Allen, Robert Layson, Charles Moore, Charles Bar- 
ron, Spruce M. Osborne, Nicholas Lockridge, Robert C. 
Anderson, Benjamin Bridges and Kean Caldwell. 



216 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

Ensigns — James M. Arthur, George Doughtery, Wm. R 
Chambliss, John Files, Thomas C. Vaughn, Robert Swan, 
Stephen Mayes. James Luckett, George H. Gibbs, Elbert 
Burton, David M. Callihan, Young R, McDonald, Benjamin 
Blanton. Benjamin Stowell, Wm. S. Britt, Isaac W. Davis, 
and John Cohn, cornet of the dragoons. 

The following is the roster of the company commanders 
of a Mississippi Battalion under the command of Major 
George H. Nixon, who were stationed at the Mount Ver- 
non cantonment, near Fort Stoddart, in what is now Ala- 
bama, in December, 1813 : 

Captains — Robert Twilley, John Lowry, Parmenas 
Briscoe, Samuel Batchelor and G. Y. Glassburn, These 
troops were mostly from Claiborne and Amite counties. 

Meantime, in the preceding April, Commodore Shaw, 
commanding the naval forces of the United States in the 
Southern waters, surprised and captured Mobile without 
firing a shot, a Spanish force still being in possession of 
that place. 

During the summer the battle of "Burnt Corn" was 
fought, and by bad management on the part of somebody, 
the Indians remained masters of the field. There was 
great alarm|felt for the safety of the settlements on the east- 
ern frontier, when with the suddenness of a peal of thun- 
der from a cloudless sky, the people of the entire Territory 
were astounded with the intelligence of the surprise and 
massacre of the garrison at Fort Mims. This event was 
entirely unexpected even by the nearest military com- 
manders. On the morning of the 30th of August, 1813, 
Major Beasley, who was in command of Fort Mims, wrote 
to General Claiborne enclosing his morning reports. He 
informed that officer that he had "improved the fort, and 
made it much stronger than when you were here," and two 
hours later, having detained his messenger tor some pur- 
pose, he again wrote, expressing his ^'•ability to maintain 
the post against any number of Indians P'' 

In less than two hours after the last note was penned, 
one thousand Indians who had been lying in ambush in a 
deep ravine, within a short distance of the fort, advanced 
rapidly from their hiding place, poured through the open 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 217 

outer gate, and the work of slaughter began, and was 
ended in a brief space of time. Major Beasley, who was 
a Mississippi soldier, rushed to the gate to close it on the 
first alarm and fell pierced with a dozen bullets. The gar- 
rison ready "for duty" on the morning of that fatal 30th 
of August, was one hundred and five, while the entire 
number in the stockade was two hundred a^d seventy-five, 
according to Claiborne, "of whom not more than fifteen 
escaped." 

From all accounts, the commander of the fort, who was 
a brave soldier, with no taint of fear about him, held the 
Indians in great contempt, was irritated by numerous false 
alarms, and as "a taunt and in derision of the timid, had 
the main gateway thrown open." Pickett, in his history 
of Alabama, referring to the slaughter at Fort Mims, says : 
"Major Beasley rushed, sword in hand, and assayed in 
vain to shut it. The Hand had washed against it and it 
could not 'be shut .'" From this it appears that the gate 
had been open for several days before the attack. 

The Indians, lying in ambush within a short distance of 
the open gate of the stockade which surrounded the fort, 
bided their time in assured confidence. At the hour of 
12 M., when the drum was sounding the signal for dinner, 
these savages, led by McQueen, Weatherford and Francis, 
ran from their place of ambush and got within thirty 
yards of the open gate before they were discovered. It 
has already been recorded how Major Beasley rushed to 
the open gateway and assayed to close it. The eflfbrt was 
vain. Before he could shut the gate he fell, like the Greek 
Bozzaris, in the hour of victory, "bleeding at every vein." 
Claiborne, in describing the slaughter, says, "Captain 
Middleton and his company were posted at the inside 
eastern gate, and there nearly to a man the}^ fell. Captain 
Jack, with his riflemen, was posted in the south bastion; 
Lieutenant Randon in the guard-house, and Captain Dixon 
Bailey behind the northern line of pickets. The Indians 
assailed all these positions simultaneously, and through 
the port holes poured a constant fire on the frantic women 
and children, whose wild shrieks rose above the yells of 
the savages and the clamor of battle. By this time the 



218 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

buildings were on lire, and every officer had fallen except 
the brave half-breed Captain Dixon Bailey, and all the 
soldiers were dead or wounded. As the Indians rushed in 
and commenced to massacre the wounded and the women 
and children. Dr. Holmes, Captain Bailey, Lieutenant 
Chambliss, (of Claiborne county), and two or three others, 
all wounded, made their escape. Captain Bailey soon 
died ; the others finally reached Mount Vernon. Half a 
dozen other fugitives subsequently came in." 

There can be no question of the courage of Major Beas- 
ley. This writer, in his earlier years, knew many persons 
who were intimately acquainted with this unfortunate 
officer, and they all spoke of him as a brave, chivalrous, 
frank and generous man. He was the soul of honor, but 
his confidence in his soldiers and his contempt for his foes 
led to his and their ruin and the slaughter of many inno- 
cent women and children. Grievous as was his error, he 
expiated that error with his life, and we would plant 
neither thorn nor thistle on his grave. Major Daniel 
Beasley was a genuine Mississippian, and resided in Clai- 
borne county. He was sent by General Claiborne, in whose 
brigade he was serving, to reinforce Fort Mims, and by 
right of his rank became the commanding officer there. 

The trepidation and alarm caused by the fall of Fort 
Mims is well described by Claiborne. He says : 

"This terrible tragedy spread consternation through the 
Territory. On the immediate frontier, the whole popula- 
tion fled to the stockades, leaving their abundant crops un- 
gathered. No one knew where the next blow would fall, 
and a coalition of the Creeks and the Choctaws was gen- 
erally apprehended. The citizens on the Chickasahay and 
Pearl Rivers erected stockades. The alarm penetrated to 
Baton Rouge and St. Francisville, in Louisiana, and to 
Natchez, Port Gibson, Winchester and Walnut Hills, (now 
Vicksburg), and strong committees of vigilance and safety 
were organized. 

"At a meeting held in Port Gibson, in Claiborne county, 
on September 18th, 1813, for the purpose of taking meas- 
ures for the public safety of said county. Col. Daniel Bur- 
nett was called to the chair, and Jefferson H. Moore was 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 219 

appointed secretary. On motion of Herman Blannerhas- 
sett, it was resolved that a committee of seven persons be 
appointed to inquire into the foundation of the late alarm, 
and also to report and recommend such means as they 
think best calculated for our defence, and the following- 
gentlemen were appointed, to-wit : Major Clark, Herman 
Blannerhassett, H. Harmon, Col. Ralph Regan, Captain 
Parmenas Briscoe, William Briscoe and Thomas Barnes, 
who soon made the following report : 'That from the best 
information they can obtain, the late alarm of invasion on 
the frontiers of this county by a savage enemy, has been 
groundless and unfounded. But a crisis is at present 
arrived, at which it is no longer doubtful that such a ca- 
lamity ought to be expected and provided against by a 
system of defense the most speedy in its creation and ef- 
fective in itself. That for this purpose the committee 
recommend the erection of stockade forts at three points, 
to be viewed and determined on by a committee on the 
frontier ; also one strong fort to be erected in such central 
part of the county as shall be fixed upon by a committee. 
The committee think that other dangers to which the 
county is exposed, from a local source, as well as from a 
savage invasion, should cause the erection of all the forts 
at one and the same time. 

" 'Your committee further recommend to such planters 
as can conveniently, by their own force and that of neigh- 
bors, within convenient distance, the erection of local 
block houses on their plantations. They invite and recom- 
mend every voluntary aid their fellow-citizens can lend to 
the militia duty, of keeping up a regular and constant 
party of rangers and spies on the frontier.' " 

The following gentlemen were appointed by the chair- 
man, (Col. Burnett,) Major Clarke, Captain Johnson, Cap- 
tain Parmenas Briscoe, David McCaleb, John Booth, Gib- 
son Clarke and Moses Shelby, as the Frontier Committee. 

And the following composed the Central Committee : 
Thomas Barnes, William Tabor, Samuel Gibson, William 
Briscoe, Herman Blannerhassett, Col. Ralph Regan, James 
Watson, Daniel Burnett, Thomas Farrar, Judge Leake 
and Robert Cochran. 



220 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

These were the first men in the county — first in charac- 
ter, intelligence, courage and property interests, with the 
exception of Blannerhassett, and their descendants in 
large numbers are still to be found in Mississippi, Louis- 
iana and Texas. 

Governor Holmes was not idle or indifferent in the mean- 
time. As early as September the 2d, he issued his proc- 
lamation for a draft of five hundred men from the militia 
and ordered the cavalry companies to hold themselves in 
readiness for marching orders. In three days the Jeffer- 
son troop, Captain Dougherty, with sixty men and horses, 
reported at the capital of the Territory, and immediately 
took up the line of march for the frontier. The commands 
of Captains Bullen and Grafton (two companies of infan- 
try), followed the next day, and on the following day Cap- 
tain Kemp, at the head of the Adams county troop, moved 
forward. 

In a very brief space of time there was concentrated at 
Mount Vernon five companies of infantry and four strong 
companies of cavalry, the latter under the command of 
Major Thomas Hinds. 

General Flournoy was then in command of the United 
States forces in the Southwest, General Wilkinson having 
been ordered north for service. General Flournoy was 
doubtless a brave and honorable gentleman, but he was 
utterly without experience as a soldier. He had been a 
prominent lawyer in Georgia, but his legal battles before 
the courts had never taught him how to conduct a cam- 
paign against the wily red men of the forest, and hence 
his operations against the Indians were conspicuous only 
by their failure. He became greatly displeased with 
the battalion of Mississippi dragoons, commanded by 
Major Hinds, and proposed to take from them the arms 
furnished by the Territorial government, and place them 
in the hands of men who were willing to fight. And yet 
these men, two years later, won from that splendid soldier. 
General Andrew Jackson, after the victory of New Orleans 
had been secured, a compliment that has never been sur- 
passed. 

General F. L. Claiborne, commanding the Mississippi 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 221 

troops, was the brother of Wm. C. C. Claiborne, former 
Governor ot the Mississippi Territory, and was at that 
period Governor of the State of Louisiana. He was also 
the father of the distinguished John F. H. Claiborne, emi- 
nent as an orator, a Representative in Congress, an author 
of celebrity, and distinguished for his scholarly attain- 
ments. 

General Claiborne was exceedingly anxious to lead an 
expedition into the heart of the Creek Nation, and punish 
that tribe for their atrocities at Fort Mims, but General 
Flournoy seemed to prefer a defensive rather than an 
aggressive campaign. 

After the terrible massacre at Fort Mims, by the advice 
of the Prophet, a fort and village had been built in a re- 
mote and secluded spot to which no path led, and was 
called Ecanachaha, or Holy Ground. The Prophets took 
up their abode here, and assured their followers that no 
pale faces could approach it. Speaking of this secret 
stronghold, Pickett, in his history of Alabama, has this to 
say : "It had been strongly fortified in the Indian manner. 
Some two hundred houses were erected, and it was the 
point to which those who had been on marauding expedi- 
tions, or in battle, retreated with their plunder and for 
safety. It stoDd upon a bluff on the eastern side of the 
Alabama river, just below Powell's ferry, in the county of 
Lowndes. Here many of the white persons had been 
burned to death." 

General Claiborne's command had been greatly depleted 
by sickness and want of food, as well as by the expiration 
of the term of enlistment of many of his soldiers. Hence 
they were not particularly anxious to engage in another 
and probably more dangerous expedition. Claiborne per- 
severed, however, and having been joined by the cele- 
brated Choctaw Chief, Pushmahata, and tifty of his war- 
riors, finally succeeded in having his command re-enforced 
with the Third Regiment United States Infantry, com- 
manded by Col. Russell, and at the same time was author- 
ized to advance into the Creek Nation. 

His son, John F. H, Claiborne, in his history of Mississip- 
pi, gives the following graphic account of the expedition : 



222 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

"To destroy this fastness, the chief center of Indian 
fanaticism, and to break down the confidence of the sav- 
ages in their Prophets, was the object of the expedition. 
Eighty miles from Fort Claiborne, near Double Swamp, in 
the present county of Butler, a stockade was erected, and 
leaving there the sick, the baggage and teams, in light 
marching order, they struck out through the pathless woods 
for the Holy City, some thirty miles away. December 23d 
the troops advanced in three columns. The town was on a 
small wooded plateau, with ravines and swamps on three 
sides, and the Alabama river on the other. It was pro- 
tected by fallen timber, and by stakes driven firmly in the 
ground. The Indians, cheered by their Prophets, who as- 
sured an easy victory, and headed by Weatherford, who 
led them at Fort Mims, met the troops on the brink of the 
ravine, and fought with desperation. But after a heavy 
fight of thirty minutes, seeing many of their best warriors 
wounded or dead, they fled to the swamp and river, their 
intrepid leader being the last to retreat. Mounting a gray 
charger, well known on the frontier, he dashed to a blujff 
on the river, then with his rifle in hand and a whoop of de- 
fiance, he plunged in, and reached the western bank in 
safety. 

"On advancing into the great square, Mrs. Sophia Du- 
rant, a half-breed lady of respectability, and ten other half- 
breeds, friendly to the whites, were found tied to stakes 
with piles of lightwood around. Their lives were saved by 
the sudden assault. Many savages fell, and the town, 
heretofore deemed invulnerable, was burned. The moral 
effect was great. It demonstrated that they had no fortress 
too sacred, too remote, or too strong to be exempt from 
assault, and it destroyed their fanatical faith in their 
Prophets, and their incantations and assurances. In this 
battle a number of Shawnees were engaged. Three of 
their warriors were killed the next day, and a town of 
sixty houses, eight miles higher up the river, destroyed. In 
Weatherford's house, at the Holy Ground, a number of let- 
ters from the Spanish authorities at Pensacola were ob 
tained, showing their close relations with the savages. 
In transmitting these to the War Department, Greneral 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 223 

Claiborne said : "Seize Pensacola. and you -disarm the 
Indians. It is the real heart of the Creek Confederacy." 

By this time the term of service of two-thirds of his 
volunteers had expired. But the General intended to pre- 
vail on them to pursue the Creeks still farther. At that 
juncture he received a letter from General Andrew Jack- 
son, dated December 18, 1813, urging him to remain at 
Weatherford's Bluff until further advices. This deter- 
mined the return to Fort Claiborne. On his arrival there, 
Carson's Mississippi Volunteers and the cavalry were 
mustered out of service, and there were only sixty men 
left, whose term would expire in a month. These troops, 
the General complains, had been permitted to serve with- 
out clothing or shoes, and had been disbanded with eight 
months pay due them. What a commentary upon the 
War Department of that day ! What an illustration of the 
patience and patriotism of the volunteers of Mississippi ! 

These volunteers had served over and above their term 
of enlistment; had remained, from attachment to their 
General, and started on the weary journey from their dis- 
tant homes on the Pearl, the Amite and the Mississippi 
rivers without a cent of their pay. Their General soon 
followed, as poor as themselves, and, with a constitution 
broken by exposure, soon died." 

In a communication published in the Mississippi Re- 
publican, at Washington, General Claiborne furnished the 
objections stated by the officers of the Territorial Volun- 
teers, against the expedition into the Creek Nation. These 
officers placed in the hands of their commanding general 
the following written statement, signed by a large majority 
of the company officers : "The undersigned, volunteer offi- 
cers, as republican soldiers devoted to their government, and 
warmly attached to yourself and disclaiming any author- 
ity to remonstrate or complain, nevertheless, respectfully 
ask permission to lay their opinions before you, in relation 
to the movement into the Creek Nation. Considering that 
the winter and the wet season have set in ; the untrodden 
wilderness to be traversed ; the impossibility of transport- 
ing supplies for the want of roads ; that most of our men 
are without winter clothing, shoes or blankets; that a 



224 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

large majority of those ordered to march will be entitled 
to their discharge before the expedition can be accom- 
plished ; for these, and other considerations, we trust the 
enterprise may be reconsidered and abandoned, declaring 
at the same time that he your decision what it may, we 
shall cheerfully obey your orders, and carry out your 
plans. '''' 

In commenting on this note, in the communication re- 
ferred to already, General Claiborne said : 

•'Their objections were stated with the dignity, feeling 
and respect those officers have always manifested. But 
those abused, calumniated defenders of their country, in a 
situation to try the stoutest heart, rose superior to priva- 
tion and suffering. As soon as the order to march was 
issued, each man repaired promptly to his post. Many 
whose term of service had expired, and who had not re- 
ceived a dollar of their arrearages, volunteered for the 
expedition, and with cheerful alacrity moved to their sta- 
tions in the line. This includes every officer who signed 
the address. Yes, when they were exposed in these 
swamps and canebrakes to an inclement winter, without 
tents, blankets, warm clothing, shoes or food ; when every 
countenance exhibited suffering ; when they were nine 
days without meat, and subsisted chiefly on parched corn, 
these brave men won an important battle, and endured 
without a murmur the exigencies of the service." 

Captain Sam Dale, (a famous Indian fighter of the time), 
who was present on that occasion, says : "The officers and 
men were averse to that expedition, but when their Gen- 
eral reminded them of the taunts of their traducers on the 
banks of the Mississippi, and that their comrades, slain at 
Fort Mims, had yet to be avenged, with one voice they 
swore they would follow him, or die in the wilderness." 

All honor to those early soldiers of Mississippi ! Their 
sons and grandsons, on the soil of Mexico, and in the late 
gigantic war between the States, by their courage, fidelity 
and heroic fortitude, have worthily emulated the example 
set by the heroic founders of the State of their nativity. 

The following was the last official communication ever 
addressed by General Claiborne to the Secretary of War. 
It bears date, Mount Vernon, January 14th, 1814 : 



HISTOEY OF MISSISSIPPI. 225 

"Sir : The term of service of the volunteers enrolled in 
this Territory and Louisiana, composing my brigade, hav- 
ing generally expired, there being only some sixty left 
who have yet a month to serve, I am left w^ithout a com- 
mand, and will myself leave this frontier for Natchez in a 
few days, by permission of General Flournoy. In my pre- 
vious letter I stated the circumstances that prevented me 
from marching, after the battle of Eccanachaha, to the 
Quewallie towns, forty -five miles above, where McQueen 
was reported to be. We were destitute of supplies. My 
whole command, on their return march, subsisted for four 
days on parched corn, and were nine days without meat. 
The expectation of finding beef in the course of our 
march, the want of transportation and the neglect of the 
contractor, occasioned this. My volunteers are returning 
to their homes with eight months pay due them, and al- 
most literally naked. They have served the last three 
months of an inclement winter, without shoes or blankets, 
and almost without shirts, but are still devoted to their 
country, and properly impressed with the justice and ne- 
cessity of the war." 

The year 1814 was a hard one for the people of the 
Mississippi Territory. The government was waging an 
unequal war with England, our people were in debt, 
money was very scarce, and the price of cotton, then their 
only article for exportation, was exceedingly low. 

Meantime, General Jackson had been sent into the field, 
with his Tennessee soldiers, to chastise the Indians of the 
Creek Confederation. He had fought the great battle of 
the Horse Shoe, and won it. Directly after this event. 
General Jackson had under his command some three thou- 
sand men, and Major Thomas Hinds, with his battalion of 
Mississippi dragoons, chiefly from Jefferson, Adams, 
Amite, Claiborne and Wilkinson counties, were ordered to 
report to General Jackson, and serve under his immediate 
observation during the remainder of his Indian campaign, 
which culminated in the capture of St. Marks and Pensa 
cola. During his stay at Pensacola there was a British 
naval squadron in the harbor, which soon took its depart- 
ure. General Jackson divined the destination of the Brit- 
15 



226 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

ish vessels to be New Orleans, and took Ms own measures 
accordingly. 

He hastened with his entire force to New Orleans, to de- 
fend it from the impending attack of the combined forces 
of the English. 

Major Hinds and his Mississippi dragoons, were ordered 
to report at New Orleans as soon as practicable. The 
command was marched rapidly to Liberty, in Amite coun- 
ty, where as many as desired it received a furlough for three 
days in order to obtain a remount, with orders to rendez- 
vous at Camp Richardson, in Wilkinson county. The 
march was pressed rapidly by day and by night. The 
weather was cold and rainy, and the roads were in a most 
execrable condition, but this gallant band of Mississippi 
soldiers were not to be deterred or turned aside by any 
ordinary obstacles. Their hearts were ablaze with patri- 
otism, they knew the indomitable courage of the lion- 
hearted, iron-handed old soldier to whose relief they were 
hastening, and they reached the city of New Orleans on 
the night of December 23d, 1814, and bivouacked in what 
is now known as La Fayette square. 

From the very interesting account, written by M. W. 
Trimble, a citizen of Claiborne county, long since passed 
away, who was a private in the " Jefferson Troop," of 
which Isaac Dunbar was captain. Battle Harrison, first 
lieutenant, and Malcolm Curry, was cornet, we glean the 
following record of the operations of the battalion : " As 
soon as we had camped, Col. Hinds proceeded to General 
Jackson's headquarters for orders, and before he returned, 
about eleven o'clock in the morning, we heard the alarm 
guns. In ten minutes he appeared in sight, riding at full 
speed, waving his sword over his head. We had mounted, 
and immediately formed four abreast, and followed him in 
a brisk trot, down Royal street. Every balcony was 
crowded, and the ladies were weeping and wringing their 
hands. Three miles or so below the city we came in view 
of two Louisiana rifle companies, and saw them fired upon 
by a large party of British concealed in an orange grove. 
Discovering our approach this party rapidly retreated be- 
low. Our first service was to throw down the cross fences 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 227 

from the levee to the woods, so as to open the way for our 
army. We were then ordered to get as near the British 
lines as safety would authorize, and keep a vigilant watch 
on their movements. Under cover of night we rode silent- 
ly down the levee, with a single file of Louisiana riflemen 
on foot. By the light of their tires we perceived a British 
outpost or guard, who were evidently making arrangements 
to throw out their pickets. Concealed by the darkness, 
we quietly passed between them and the main army, and 
surrounded them. They seemed to be astonished, and 
surrendered without firing a gun, some sixty men. Re- 
suming our march we halted within four hundred yards of 
the long line of camp fires, indicating their position, and 
we could both hear and see their different detachments de- 
tiling from the swamp into the open field. About ten that 
night, (December 24th), General Jackson marched down 
from the city. The artillery was formed on the levee The 
Tennesseeans passed by us, and took up a position between 
us and the enemy. Two American schooners dropped 
down the river and anchored near by, so as to throw a 
flank fire on the British line. All these movements on our 
part, were made in profound silence, and under cover of 
the darkness, and the enemy could have no distinct con- 
ception of our presence or our numbers. A sky rocket 
rose from our lines and hissed through the air, and at the 
same moment came a blaze of fire from our artillery, our 
rifles and our schooners. The atmosphere seemed to be on 
fire, and the very earth trembled. The surprise was com- 
plete. They could not discern us or estimate our force, 
but these brave men, fresh from their terrible conflicts 
with Napoleon's veterans, cooly extinguished their fires, 
and issued orders through their trumpets to form for action. 
Even amidst the roar of battle we could hear the thud of 
the balls mowing down their files, the cries of the wounded, 
and the cool and clear orders given by their officers. 
"Steady men, steady!" " Remember you are Britons!" 
was sounded from rank to rank. The fire on both sides 
was rapid and continuous. In the heat of the engagement 
a company of our regulars changed their position, to make 
room for a battery. In making this movement they en- 



228 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

countered a company of Tennessee riflemen, and it being 
too dark for recognition, and each company out of posi- 
tion, they opened fire upon each other at short distance, 
and soon closed in a general hand to hand fight. The 
brave Col. Lauderdale, recognizing from the familiar yell 
on both sides the fatal mistake, rushed in between them 
and commenced knocking down their guns with his sword, 
but lost his life in the fray, the saddest incident of this 
night attack. 

"Finally the British, after having suffered severely, fell 
back, and we contented ourselves with the occupation of 
the ground. Our command was posted as sentinels, from 
the levee to the swamp, in front of and near to the British 
line. When daylight appeared their dead and wounded 
covered the field." 

Private Trimble continues his account of the operations 
of the Mississippi dragoons in front of New Orleans, pre- 
vious to and during the great battle of the 8th of January, 
1815, and we copy from him : 

"Our dragoons were kept constantly on observation, in 
front of the enemy, and we had frequent skirmishes with 
pickets and reconnoitering parties. We made no fires. 
Just after dark every night the British would kindle their 
tires, and then our riflemen would pick them off. Many of 
their sentinels were killed. General Packenham sent a 
flag of truce to complain of this shooting of the sentinels 
as barbarous warfare, and that 'in the wars of Europe the 
pickets of opposing armies drank out of the same stream.' 
General Jackson said this was a war of invasion, and he 
ordered his men to capture and kill every man within the 
range of their guns. On Christmas day my mess-mate, the 
late Lieutenant C. Harris and I were eating our ration. 
Col. Hinds rode up and pointing to some seventy or eighty 
horses grazing between us and the enemy's lines ordered 
us to drive them in. He interpreted our look to mean that 
we thought it a dangerous duty, and he cried out : "Dash 
on, boys ! if you are killed I will recover your bodies if it 
takes every man in the army to do it!" They were Ten- 
nessee horses, chat had got loose in the night, with their 
bridles and saddles on, and had strayed around the army 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 229 

and were now nearer the British than to us. We started 
and part of the way were concealed by a strip of sugar 
cane, but on passing out of it found ourselves in full view 
of the British array. It was very ticklish, and we looked 
back at the thicket of sugar cane, but there where we had 
left him, sat our stern old colonel, with his eye upon us. 
looking like an equestrian statue of iron. We dashed 
around the horses just as the whole line of musketry 
opened on us. This fire wounded several of the horses 
and startled the others, and shouting and yelling, with the 
balls whistling around us, we drove them within our lines.'" 
"On the 30th of December, 1814," continues Mr. Trimble, 
"the famous adventure of the ditch occurred. Col. Hinds 
had reported at headquarters that his pickets had detected 
a strong party of the British creeping up a wide and deep 
ditch traversing the field before us. Some doubts being 
expressed, he obtained permission to make an immediate 
reconnoisance. He formed his battalion, and said : 'Boys, 
do you see that big ditch ? It is full of red coats. I am 
going over it. Whoever wishes may follow me. Whoever 
chooses to stay here may stay !' and off he went at full 
speed, and every man close behind him. They leaped the 
ditch which was crowded with soldiers, made a circuit in 
front of the British lines, and charged over the ditch a 
second time, each dragoon firing his pistol on the astound- 
ed soldiers as they bounded over. The whole affair 
was phenomenal and almost supernatural and apparently 
stupefied the crouching red coats. But they recovered in 
time to give us a general volley, which wounded several of 
the troopers and tumbled over a number of horses. Levi 
C. Harris and Charles H. Jourdan, each got a bullet in the 
right shoulder. 

"On the night of the 7th of January, (1815)," continues 
Mr. Trimble, "we were driven from our position in front 
and compelled to fall back by an overwhelming force. 
There was a scattering fire during the night, and the note 
of preparation in the British camp could be distinctly 
heard. Our troops were under arms, and in their proper 
places at break of day. Our cannon bristled on the 
breast-works from the levee to the woods, and behind this 



230 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

was our long line of riflemen. One hundred and fifty 
yards in the rear sat our grim old Major on his charger, 
with the whole of the cavalry. We were placed there to 
cover our army in the event of its being compelled to fall 
back to the second position. As it turned out, we were 
merely silent spectators of the dreadful battle that en- 
sued." 

It is not the object of this volume to indulge in a de- 
tailed description of the battle of New Orleans ; that does 
not fall within the scope of our purpose. We desire only 
to point to the conspicuous part borne in that memorable 
conflict, in the achievement of that splendid triumph of 
the American arms, by the heroic sons of Mississippi, 
then a feeble Territory, with only a few thousand people 
within its borders. 

The victory won by the troops commanded by General 
Andrew Jackson on the 8th day of January, 1815, was 
complete and thorough. The hardy volunteers, under the 
leadership of their indomitable chief, had driven back and 
conquered the veteran troops of Wellington in the penin- 
sula. They had wreathed the banner of their country 
with new glories, and made the plains of Chalmette as 
immortal as Salamis or Marathon. 

Six days after the battle and the victory, General An- 
drew Jackson issued the following general order to the 
victorious troops under his command : 

Headquarters, Seventh Military District, ) 
Camp Below New Orleans, January 21st, 1815. f 

"Before the camp at these memorable lines shall be bro- 
ken up, the General commandiag thinks it his duty to the 
brave army which has defended them, publicly to notice 
the conduct of the different corps which compose it. * * 

"The cavalry from the Mississippi Territory, under their 
enterprising leader, Major Thomas Hinds, was always 
ready to perform every service which the nature of the 
country enabled them to execute. The daring manner in 
wMch they reconnoitered the enemy on his lines, excited the 
admiration of one army and the astonishment of the 
other. 

"By command of Major-General Jackson. 

"Robert Butler, Assistant Adjutant General." 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 231 

It can well be imagined how the hearts of the gallant 
Hinds and his bronzed Mississippians swelled with pride, 
as with swimming eyes they gazed upon these words of 
eulogy uttered by order of Andrew Jackson. The humblest 
private in the command realized in that proud moment 
that praise from Andrew Jackson was "praise indeed," 
and that the words of encomium pronounced by their great 
chief, in the supreme hour of victory, was a passport to 
immortality, and would send their deeds resounding 
through the corridors of the future, long after their names 
had been effaced from their tombs and faded from the 
memory of living men. 

Major Hinds enjoyed the friendship and the confidence 
of General Jackson to the last hour of his life. The Gen- 
eral had been induced to visit New Orleans in the winter 
of 1839 and 1840, under the impression that he would wit- 
ness the laying of the corner-stone of a monument on the 
plains of Chalmette on the 8th day of January, 184'J, in 
commemoration of the brave men who won that great vic- 
tory twenty -five j^ears before. Before leaving his home at 
the Hermitage, General Jackson wrote to his old friend, 
then General Hinds, to join him at Natchez, and accom- 
pany him to New Orleans, which he did. On his subse- 
quent visit to the capital of Mississippi, General Hinds 
accompanied the old hero at the request of his former com- 
mander, and their last parting was at Yicksburg late in 
the month of January, 1840. The Ex-President was leav- 
ing for his home in Tennessee, the General for his own 
beloved home in Jefferson county. They no doubt felt 
that their parting was eternal so far as this world is con- 
cerned. With a pressure of the hand and a fervent "God 
bless you," these "brothers of battle" parted to meet no 
more on earth. General Hinds died in the following 
August while a candidate on the Democratic electoral 
ticket for the State-at-large. His old friend, Ex-President 
Jackson, survived him about five years. 

The dragoons commanded by Major Hinds were not the 
only soldiers who represented Mississippi at New Orleans 
on the ever glorious 8th ol January, 1815. There was a 
gallant company of Natchez riflemen, commanded by Cap- 



232 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

tain James Campbell Wilklns, a brave, accomplished and 
princely gentleman, with the late Hon. Adam L. Binga- 
man as his first lieutenant, which by almost superhuman 
exertions was enabled to reach the city on the evening of 
the 6th of January. 

Twenty -two years later, on the 4th of July, 1887, Mr. A. 
Campbell, a citizen of Adams county, and a private in the 
company of Captain Wilkins, in response to an invitation 
to be present at a celebration of "Independence Day" in 
Natchez, furnished the Committee of Invitation with a most 
interesting account of the formation of the company, its 
departure for the theatre of action, and the part it bore in 
the stirring events of the defence of New Orleans against 
the invasion of a brutal enemy whose battle cry was 
"beauty and booty." 

The following extracts are made from the Natchez Free 
Trader in which the statement of Mr. Campbell was pub- 
lished a few days after it was written : 

"As soon as the arrival of the British army and navy 
on our borders became generally and certainly known in 
Natchez on the evening of the 27th of December, 1814, the 
citizens composing a majority of the rifle company as- 
sembled at the Franklin Hotel, organized themselves into 
a rifle corps, elected their officers, and in three days after- 
wards they were in complete uniform, armed and equipped 
with rifles, tomahawks and long knives ; they also fur- 
nished themselves with arms and subsistence sufficient for 
two weeks, without aid or comfort from the government, the 
corporation, or from any individual or individuals; the 
members of the company were chiefly mechanics in ordi- 
nary circumstances." 

Frojn the commencement of the war, in 1812, to its ter- 
mination, in 1815, Mississippi, then with a sparse popula- 
tion (no settlement above Claiborne county), by means of 
draft and voluntary enrollments kept constantly an army 
of several hundred men in the field. The late patriotic 
General Claiborne had at one time twelve hundred volun- 
teers at his command during a tour of twelve months on 
the Tombigbee and Alabama rivers. Col. Robinson, of 
Claiborne county, at another time had upwards of a thous- 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 233 

and men out. Col. Nixon, of Lawrence county, at another 
time had fifteen hundred men on the Alabama river at Fort 
Claiborne. Col. Nelson, of Amite county, had about 
twelve hundred men out at New Orleans, Mobile and 
Mobile Point, or Fort Boyer ; all these, exclusive of large 
volunteer troops of cavalry, from the counties of Clai- 
borne, Jefferson, Adams, Wilkinson and Amite, made up 
of the elite of the country, commanded by Colonels Hinds, 
Kemper and Richardson. At each draft, and there were 
many, every seventh man was taken to perform a tour of 
duty of from three to six months ; or find an able bodied 
substitute in his place. Those who hired themselves as 
substitutes obtained from three to six hundred dollars as 
compensation for the risk and service of a tour of duty. 
These circumstances are mentioned to show the state of 
the country at that time. Some of the citizens who en- 
rolled themselves in the rifle corps, had previously served 
one, and others of them two of these tours of duty. For- 
tunately at this time, an old leaky barge was found at the 
landing ; she was pressed at once into service, in a rain 
storm, and amidst the prayers and tears of a feeble and 
powerless population, about 4 o'clock on the afternoon of 
the 1st of January, 1815, the corps embarked on their 
voyage for the scene of militarj'^ operations ; their num- 
ber, about eighty men, including officers, non-commissioned 
officers, privates and three colored servants. After inces- 
sant muscular toil, by day and by night, in uncommonly 
boisterous weather, the barge landed safe, with all well, at 
a point immediately above New Orleans, on the evening 
of the 6th of January, where a portion of the American 
army was encamped. 

On the morning of the 7th, the commanding officer. Cap- 
tain James C. Wilkins, lost no time in reporting himself 
to the commanding general at Camp Jackson, distant 
eight or nine miles from where the barge landed, and re- 
ceived orders to repair to the lines. ''Early on the morn- 
ing of the memorable eighth of January," continues Mr. 
Campbell, ''on the march between New Orleans and Camp 
Jackson, the shouts of victory on the left bank, and the 
visible evidences of defeat on the right bank of the Mis- 



284 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

sissippi were simultaneous. General Morgan's portion of 
the American army was distinctly seen on the right levee, 
retreating in the greatest confusion. Under positive orders 
to take his position on the lines at Camp Jackson, and 
without orders. Captain Wilkins bravely took the respon- 
sibility, and promptly crossed the river to throw himself 
and his corps in front of the advancing enemy, and afford 
the flying fugitives time and opportunity to rally. Cap- 
tain Wilkins marched three miles downwards on the right 
levee, passing Morgan's flying troops, and every moment 
expecting to encounter their pursuers, but when arrived at 
a certain point, in view of the enemy, near Dr. Flood's 
plantation, whose buildings he had just tired, he made a 
precipitate retreat. During the whole night of the 8th, a 
great part of the corps had volunteered, and actually per- 
formed a hazardous and fatiguing duty, and from which 
the hardy and courageous chief, Lafitte, shrank. On the 
9th, the corps put General Morgan and his command in pos- 
session of the position they had abandoned on the preceding 
morning. On the 10th, they re-crossed the river and took 
a position on the breastworks at Camp Jackson, under the 
eye of the commanding general. 

"As a band of brothers they set out to repel the enemies 
of their country or die in the attempt; as a band of broth- 
ers they returned to their friends and homes in good 
health ; and thanks to a superintending Providence, with- 
out the loss of a single individual. They returned home 
by crossing Lake Ponchartrain, and from the mouth of 
Chefuncte river to Natchez, they had a fatiguing march of 
five days, frequently wading through swamps covered 
with water, and swimming rivers swollen with recently 
fallen rains. 

'"Upon the return of the company commanded by Cap- 
tain Wilkins, the soldiers were met by the entire popula- 
tion of Natchez, a short distance from the city, and a con- 
gratulatory address was delivered to them by the Hon. 
Edward Turner, on behalf of the citizens of the commu- 
nity." 

But these were not all the Mississippians who were pres- 
ent and participating in that memorable battle. The Hon. 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 235 

G-eorge Poindexter, then a judge of the United States 
Court for the Territory, served as a volunteer on the staff 
of General Carroll. Major Chotard, a gallant gentleman 
of Adams county, well known and highly esteemed for 
his many noble qualities, served as a volunteer aid on the 
staff of General Jackson. In his report of the affair of 
December 23d, 1814, the old chief thus refers to Major 
Chotard : "Cols. Butler and Piatt, and Major Chotard, by 
their intrepidity, saved the artillery." Major Chotard was 
wounded in the battle of the 8th of January, by a shell, 
near the Villere mansion. 

The famous Indian scout and veteran partisan fighter, 
Captain Sam Dale, was there with his trusty rifle, to perform 
Ms devoirs in behalf of his lady-love, the young and 
blooming Territory of Mississippi. And right well did he 
do his duty. He rarely touched the trigger of his unerring 
rifle but a foeman fell, a victim of the prowess of the heroic 
Sam Dale. 

The battle of New Orleans was fought some days after 
the signing of a treaty of peace ai Ghent, which had been 
agreed on by the English and American commissioners 
entrusted with that duty, but as there were neither steam- 
ships nor ocean telegraph cables in those early days, the 
American government, equally with the commander of the 
British forces then operating against the United States, 
were in total ignorance of the event. 

The stunning defeat of the British army commanded by 
General Sir Edward Packenham, and the death of that offi- 
cer in the battle of New Orleans, would unquestionably 
have brought peace within a very brief period. 

With the return of peace, at the close of a bloody and 
exhausting war, there came great additions to the popula- 
tion, the wealth, and prosperity of the people of the Ter- 
ritory, and with these came a yearning desire to merge 
the existence of a Territorial government into that of an 
independent commonwealth, and to be admitted into the 
great sisterhood of the American Union. 

Nothing worthy of particular notice occurred in the Ter- 
ritory after the battle of New Orleans, until March 1st, 
1817, when President Madison approved an act to enable 



236 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

the people "to form for themselves a constitution and State 
government, and to assume such name as they shall deem 
proper ; and the said State, when formed, shall be admitted 
into the Union upon the same footing with the original 
States, in all respects whatever." ' 

Section 2 of this act defines the boundaries of the pro- 
posed State as follows : 

"That the said State shall consist of all the territory in- 
cluded in the following boundaries, to-wit: Beginning on 
the river Mississippi at the point where the southern 
boundary line of the State of Tennessee strikes the same ; 
thence east along the said boundary line to the Tennessee 
river ; thence up the same to the mouth of Bear Creek ; 
thence by a direct line to the northwest corner of the 
county of Washington ; thence due south to the Gulf of 
Mexico ; thence westwardly, including all the islands 
within six leagues of the shore, to the most eastern junc- 
tion of Pearl river with Lake Borgne ; thence up said 
river to the thirty-first degree of north latitude ; thence 
west, along the said degree of latitude to the Mississippi 
river ; thence up the same to the place of beginning." 

The total area embraced within the foregoing boundaries 
include 46,810 square miles, the water surface amounting 
to 470 square miles. Reduced to acres, Mississippi pos- 
sesses an aggregate of 29,953,400 acres. 

Section 3 provides "That all free white male citizens of 
the United States, twenty-one years of age, and residing 
within the Territory one year prior to the election, and 
who shall have paid a Territorial or county tax, are 
authorized to choose representatives to form a constitu- 
tion." 

The same section apportioned the delegates among the 
several counties as follows : Adams county, eight ; Amite, 
six ; Claiborne, four ; Franklin, two ; Greene, two ; Han- 
cock, two; Jackson, two; Jefferson, four; Lawrence, two; 
Marion, two ; Warren, two ; Wayne, two ; Wilkinson, six ; 
and Pike, three. 

This "enabling act" required that the election for the 
choice of delegates to the constitutional convention should 
be held at the various polling places in the several counties. 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 237 

on the first Monday and the following Tuesday in June, and 
the delegates so chosen should assemble in the town of 
Washington, in Adams county, on the first Monday in 
July, A. D., 1817. 

In accordance with this ''enabling act," and the election 
held under it, the delegates so chosen assembled in the 
town of Washington, on the 7th day of July, 1817. A roll 
call of the delegates developed the fact that the people of 
the fourteen counties in the Territory were represented by 
forty -seven delegates as follows : 

Adams county — David Holmes, Josiah Simpson, James 
C. Wilkins, John Taylor, Christopher Rankin, Edward 
Turner, Joseph Sessions and John Steele. 

Amite county — Henry Hanna. Thomas Batchelor, John 
Burton, Thomas Torrence, Angus Wilkinson and William 
Lattiraore. 

Claiborne county — Walter Leake, Thomas Barnes, 
Daniel Burnett and Joshua Gr. Clarke. 

Franklin county — John Shaw and James Knox. 

Greene county — Laughlin McCoy and John McCray. 

Hancock county— Noel Jourdan and Amos Burnett. 

Jackson county — John McLeod and Thomas Bilbo. 

Jefferson county — Cowles Mead, Cato West, Hezekiah 
J. Balch and Joseph E. Davis. 

Lawrence county — Harmon Runnells and George W. 
King. 

Marion county — John Ford and Dugal McLaughlin. 

Pike county — David Dickson, William J. Minton and 
James Y. McNabb. 

Wayne county — James Patton and Clinch Gray. 

Warren county- -Henry D. Downs and Andrew Glass. 

Wilkinson county — George Poindexter, Daniel Wil- 
liams. Abram M. Scott, John Joor, Gerard C. Brandon and 
Joseph Johnson. 

The Convention organized bv the election of David 
Holmes, (at the time Territorial Governor,) as President, 
Louis Winston, Secretary and John Lowry, Door-keeper. 

After the organization of the convention it was developed 
that there was a respectable minority of the body who 



238 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

deemed it inexpedient to adopt a constitution and form a 
State government at that time. This view was maintained 
by some of the ablest men in the convention, among whom 
were Gerard C. Brandon, Abram M. Scott, both of whom 
were subsequently Governors of the State, and Joseph E. 
Davis, a distinguished lawyer and scholar, and the elder 
brother of Ex-President Jefferson Davis. 

The vote on the resolution declaring it "expedient at this 
time to form a constitution and State government," was 
taken on the third day of the session and adopted by a 
vote of 36 ayes to 11 nays. 

The features of the constitution of 1817, prescribing the 
qualifications prerequisite for the Governor, for senators 
and for representatives in the legislature, as well as for 
the qualification for electors, are wholly unlike any to be 
found in either the constitution of 1832, or that of 1868. 

A residence of five years in the State, the age of thirty 
years, and the possession of a freehold estate of 600 acres 
of land within the State, or of real estate of the value of 
two thousand dollars, were prescribed as necessary to the 
eligibility of the Governor. The Lieutenant-Governor was 
required to have the same qualifications. The qualifica- 
tions of a State senator were to be twenty-six years of age, 
four years residence in the State, he should be the owner, 
in his own right, of 300 acres of land, or an interest in real 
estate of the value of one thousand dollars. 

To be eligible to the position of representative in the 
legislature, the person must be a citizen of the United 
States, have been an inhabitant of the State for two years, 
and the last year thereof of the county, city or town for 
which he shall be chosen. Should be twenty-two years of 
age, and hold, in his own right, one hundred and fifty 
acres of land, or an interest in real estate of the value 
of five hundred dollars, at the time of his election and for 
six months previous thereto. 

Every free white male of the age of twenty-one years or 
upwards, a citizen of the United States, and who has re- 
sided in the State one year, and the last six months in the 
county, city or town, who had been enrolled in the militia, 
except exempted by law from military service, and shall 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 239 

have paid a State or county tax^ was declared to be an 
elector. 

All judges were made elective by the Legislature, were 
to hold office during good behavior, but no person could 
be elected as judge who had attained the age of sixty-five 
years, and no judge could continue to hold his position 
after reaching that age. 

No person who denied the existence of a God or of a 
future state of rewards and punishments, was eligible to 
any office in the civil government. 

Section seventh of " general provisions," was in these 
words : 

" Ministers of the gospel being dedicated to God, and 
the care of souls, ought not to be diverted from the 
great duties of their functions. Therefore, no minister of 
the gospel, or priest of any denomination whatever, shall 
be eligible to the office of Governor, Lieutenant-Governor, 
or to a seat in either branch of the general assembly." 

The Attorney-General, Secretary of State, Treasurer and 
Auditor, were made elective by the Legislature. 

The delegates to this, the first Constitutional Conven- 
tion ever held in Mississippi, were able, earnest and patri- 
otic men, and fully realized the difficulty and delicate du- 
ties confided to them. It may be safely stated that they 
enjoyed the unstinted confidence and patriotic support of 
their constituents, and it is worthy of remark, that quite 
a number of them subsequently reached the highest official 
positions within the gift of the people. 

From the county of Adams, one of their delegates, David 
Holmes, became the first Governor of the State, and final- 
ly a Senator in Congress. Another delegate, Christopher 
Rankin, became a Representative in Congress ; a third, 
Edward Turner, was first a Circuit Judge, and was for 
years a Judge of the High Court of Errors and Appeals ; 
and a fourth, Josiah Simpson, was for a number of years a 
distinguished Circuit Judge. In honor of his memory and 
public services his name was given to one of the counties 
of the State. 

From Amite county, one of their delegates. Dr. Wil- 
liam Lattimore had previously been a delegate in Con- 
gress from the Territory for a period of eight years. 



240 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

From Claiborne county, delegate Walter Leake became 
a Senator in Congress and Governor of the State ; and 
Joshua Q. Clarke, another delegate from Claiborne, be- 
came Chancellor of the Superior Court of Chancery, where 
he presided for years with signal ability, purity of char- 
acter and dignity. 

From Pike county, one of its delegates, Dr. David Dick- 
son, became Lieutenant-Governor and a Representative in 
Congress. 

Wilkinson county was prolific in future honors to be 
won by her delegates on the floor of the Constitutional 
Convention. George Poindexter, who had been a delegate 
in Congress from the Territory, was destined to be the first 
Representative, the second Governor of the State, and a 
Senator in Congress. Gerard C. Brandon, and Abram 
M. Scott, each became Governor of the State, and each 
performed their official duties with ability and with un- 
questioned integrity. Gerard C. Brandon was a native of 
Mississippi, and Abram M. Scott was an immigrant from 
South Carolina, where he was born. 

From this brief review it will be seen that this Constitu- 
tional Convention of forty-seven members contained no 
less than five future Governors, three United States Sena- 
tors, and four Representatives in Congress, one Judge of 
the High Court of Errors and Appeals, and one Chancellor 
of the Superior Court of Chancery. 

When the first Constitution of Mississippi was formed 
and put into operation, in the forty-second year of the Inde- 
pendence of the United States of America, those who were 
then endeavoring to increase the population and wealth of 
the Mississippi Territory, and charged with the delicate 
and responsible duty of passing from a Territorial to that 
of a State government, were not unmindful of the bless- 
ings of liberty guaranteed by our system of government, 
founded upon the will of the people, and to be adminis- 
tered for their benefit. 

The struggle for liberty was fresh in the minds and 
hearts of those who formed the first organic law in this 
State, seventy -four years ago, and the admirable system 
securing to all citizens the full enjoyment of every privi- 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 241 

lege which had been maintained for forty-two years by the 
general government, had commended itself to an enlight- 
ened world. It is not strange, therefore, that the men to 
whom were committed the destinies of the Mississippi 
Territory in 1817, were gratified to participate in all the 
rights, and to assume all the obligations and duties as 
citizens of the American Union. 

In adopting the preamble to the Constitution forming a 
free and independent State, Mississippi came within seven 
votes of being called the State of Washington, Mr. Cowles 
Mead, of Jefferson county, having proposed that name. It 
was supported by George Poindexter and others, but the 
motion failed by a vote of seventeen ayes to twenty-three 
nays. Thus an opportunity was aff'orded for the appropri- 
ation of that revered name by the young, growing and pros- 
perous State of the North-west, seventy-three years later. 

The Convention having been in session one month and 
eight days, adjourned sine die on the 15th day of August, 
1817. 

Previous to the adjournment of the Convention, that 
body adopted, with entire unanimity, a resolution thank- 
ing their President, Grovernor Holmes, for the ability, 
courtesy and impartiality with which he had performed his 
duties. The President returned his thanks in a brief but 
graceful speech. 

The following resolution was adopted prior to the ad- 
journment of the Convention, upon the motion of Mr. 
Cowles Mead : 

'''■Resolved, That the President of this Convention be au- 
thorized and required to draw on the Territorial Treasury 
for one hundred dollars, to be paid over to the trustees of 
the Methodist meeting house in the town of Washington, 
as a compensation for the time it has been occupied by the 
Convention." 

The Governors of the Mississippi Territory, during its 
Territorial existence, were : 

First — Winthrop Sargent, a native of Massachusetts, 
who served from May, 1798, to March, 1801. 

Second — William Charles Cole Claiborne, a Virginian 
16 



242 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

by birth, who served from March, 1801, to the first day of 
October. 1804. 

Third — Robert Williams, a native of North Carolina, 
who served from December, 1804, to March, 1809. 

The Fourth^ and last Territorial Governor, was David 
Holmes, a native of the ancient commonwealth of Virginia, 
the mother alike of States, statesmen and soldiers, who 
served as Territorial Governor from March, 1809, until De- 
cember, 1817, a continuous service of more than eight 
years. Governor Holmes had the honor to close the career 
of the Territorial government, with its long array of illus- 
trious names and noble deeds, and the proud privilege of 
introducing into the Union another free, sovereign and in- 
dependent commonwealth, thus adding another star to the 
flag of the country. 

As the young people of the present busy and bustling 
age may desire to know something of the character of the 
sturdy patriots who represented the people of the Terri- 
tory of Mississippi as delegates in the halls of Congress 
in those early and troublous years, the following informa- 
tioQ is subjoined : 

The Honorable Narsworthy Hunter was a native of Vir- 
ginia, though in what county he was born is not known to 
this writer. He was sent to the Territory of Mississippi in 
July, 1797, with credentials to Major Isaac Guion, of the 
United States army, then in command of United States 
troops in the Territory. A letter from the Honorable 
James McHenry, the Secretary of War, under President 
John Adams, to Major Guion runs thus : 

"Captain Narsworthy Hunter, who carries this dispatch, 
is a person in whom I believe confidence maybe placed. 
He has been appointed inspector of the public stores and 
buildings at the posts on the east side of the Mississippi. 
You will see that he is respected accordingly." 

Captain Hunter soon commended himself to the people 
of the Territory by his intelligence, purity of character, 
discretion and unquestioned patriotism. He was an edu- 
cated and cultivated gentleman, and before his election as 
the first delegate to the House of Representatives, he had 
been appointed as "agent of the people of the Territory," 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 243 

to proceed to Philadelphia, the then Capital of the Govern- 
ment, and lay before the Congress of the United States the 
complaints of the citizens of the Territory of Mississippi, 
and the disabilities they were laboring under. These 
duties were performed with so much courage, ability, pru- 
dence and discretion, that Captain Hunter became im- 
mensely popular, and when the time arrived for the selec- 
tion of a delegate to represent the Territory in Congress, 
he had no difficulty in being chosen as the first delegate. 

Captain Hunter took his seat December 7, 1801, in the 
Seventh Congress, and served until March 11, 1802, when 
he died, thus closing, prematurely, what might have been 
a long, useful and honorable career. 

The Honorable Thomas Marston Green was elected to 
succeed Mr. Hunter in the Seventh Congress. He took his 
seat in the House in December, 1802, and served until 
March 3, 1803, when he declined a re-election. Mr. Green 
was the third child of Col. Thomas Green, who was an officer 
in the Provincial army, and his wife, Martha Wills, and 
was born in James City county, Virginia, February 26, 
1758. 

Mr. Green traced his lineage, through his maternal grand- 
mother, to the distinguished English Howard family, of 
which the Earl of Surry, afterwards Duke of Norfolk, was 
the head, whose daughter, Catherine Howard, became the 
fifth wife of King Henry VHI, and consequently Queen 
of England. He was also the cousin of General Green 
Clay, conspicuous in the early history of Kentucky — the 
father of the latter having married a sister of Thomas M. 
Green's father, and hence the name Green Clay. This 
name has been perpetuated in the family, and the name 
Green Clay is borne to-day by a prominent citizen of Mis- 
sissippi. 

General Green Clay was the cousin of the Hon. Henry 
Clay, the "great commoner," and the father of Brutus 
Junius, and Cassius Marcellus Clay, the latter of whom 
became conspicuous fifty years ago by his opposition to 
the institution of slavery. During the administration of 
President Lincoln, Cassius M. Clay represented the United 
States at the court of the Colossal Empire of Russia. 



244 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

Mr. Green was a man of edacafcion and fortune. He 
came to the Mississippi Territory with his father and 
family in the year 1780. He settled in what is now Jeffer- 
son county, near Cole's Creek, in what was then known as 
the county of Pickering, where he continued to reside 
until his death, which occurred- February 7, 1813. He le«ft 
many descendants, all of whom are recognized to-day as 
honorable and upright citizens in the States of Mississippi 
and Louisiana. His home, his broad acres, the oaks he 
planted, the house in which he lived for nearly a quarter 
of a century, built by him a hundred years ago, still re- 
main in the possession of his descendants. 

Dr. Wm. Lattimore was born in the vicinity of Norfolk, 
Virginia, from where he migrated in company with his 
brother, Dr. David Lattimore, to Natchez, in the year 1801, 
where they soon succeeded in establishing va large and 
lucrative practice. Both were accomplished physicians 
and thorough gentlemen. Dr. Wm. Lattimore, however, 
soon developed a fondness for political life, and when the 
Hon. Thomas Marston Green, who had succeeded Hon. 
Narsworthy Hunter as a delegate in the 7th Congress, de- 
clined a re-election, Dr. Lattimore was chosen as his suc- 
cessor in the 8th, and was re-elected to the 9th Congress, 
serving from March 4th, 1803, to March 3d, 1807. 

Hon. George Poindexter, a native of Louisa county, 
Virginia, was the fourth delegate chosen to represent the 
people of the Mississippi Territory, and served in the 10th, 
11th and 12th Congresses of the United States. His service 
embraced a period of six years, from March 4th, 1807, to 
March 3d, 1813. Mr. Poindexter declined a re-election. 

Dr. William Lattimore was again chosen to represent 
the people as the successor of Mr. Poindexter, and he con- 
tinued to serve as a delegate through the 13th and 14th 
Congresses. The last Congressional service of Dr. Latti- 
more extended from March 4th, 1813, to March 3d, 1817. 
In December of that year the Mississippi Territory ceased 
to exist, and Mississippi as a free, independent and sov- 
reign commonwealth, was admitted into the Union. 

Dr. William Lattimore was an educated, polished gentle- 
man, possessed a superior and highly cultivated mind, and 



HISTORY OP MISSISSIPPI. 245 

spoke and wrote with vigor and fluency. Having removed 
from Adams county, in the year 1801, he took up his resi- 
dence in the eastern part of Wilkinson county, that por- 
tion which at a later day was organized as the county of 
Amite. "His last public service,*' Col. Claiborne tells us, 
"was as a commissioner, in conjunction with General 
Hinds and the Hon. Peter A. Vandorn, to select a proper 
site for the seat of government for the State. They selected 
the present city of Jackson. 

Dr. Lattimore died at his home in Amite county, Aioril 
3d, 1848. ^ 



CHAPTER XL 



THE NATCHEZ, CHICKASAW, CHOCTAW AND 
OTHER INDIAN TRIBES. 

WHEN the French, under the command of Iberville, 
landed on our southern coast, they found three 
large and powerful tribes of Indians inhabiting the vast 
wilderness now known as the State of Mississippi. The 
Pascagoula, the Biloxi, and other small and feeble tribes 
occupied the territory skirting the borders of what is now 
recognized as the "Mississippi Sound," and along the 
banks of the various streams flowing into it. 

The Natchez Indians were the undisputed lords of the 
beautiful country embraced within the territorial limits of 
what are now known as the counties of Amite, Wilkinson, 
Adams, Franklin, Jefferson and Claiborne, extending to 
the Big Black river. They had their principal towns and 
villages in Adams county, in the near vicinity of the pres- 
ent city of Natchez. 

The Natchez Indians were devout worshippers of the 
sun. Their traditions traced their origin to a land near 
the great luminary of the world. They had been in 
Mexico for centuries, were there at the landing of Cortez, 
and were said to have aided that bold and ambitious 
leader in the conquest of the country and the overthrow 
of Montezuma. 

Becoming dissatisfied with the tyrannous rule of the 
Spaniards, they determined to abandon a country which had 
been the home of their tribe for centuries, and seek a new 
home and fresh hunting grounds in other lands. They 
moved in an easterly direction, and finally found themselves 
in a ravishingly beautiful country on the eastern shore of 
the great river. Here they founded their homes, builded 
their towns, and erected their temple^ 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 247 

"Their government," says Gayarre, "was a perfect 
Asiatic despotism. Their sovereign was styled the Great 
Sun, and on his death it was customary to immolate in 
his honor a considerable number of his subjects. The sub- 
ordinate chiefs of the royal blood were called Little Sunn, 
and when they also paid the inevitable tribute due to 
nature, there was, according to their dignity and the esti- 
mation they were held in, a proportionate and voluntary 
sacrifice of lives. The poor, ignorant barbarians, who 
thus died for their princes, did it cheerfully because they 
were persuaded that by escorting them to the world of 
spirits, they would, in recompense for their devotion, be 
entitled to live in eternal youth and bliss, suffering neither 
from cold, nor from heat, hunger, thirst, or disease, and 
rioting in the full gratification of all their tastes, desires 
and passions. These frequent hecatombs of human beings 
were one of the causes, it is said, which contributed to the 
diminution of that race." 

The same author furnishes the following description of 
the tribe: "The Natchez were of a light mahogany com- 
plexion, with jet black hair and eyes. Their features were 
extremely regular, and their expression was intelligent, 
open and noble. They were tall in stature, very few be- 
ing under six feet, and the symmetry of their well propor- 
tioned limbs was remarkable. Their whole frame pre- 
sented a beautiful development of the muscles. The 
women were not as good looking as the men, and were gen- 
erally of the middle size." 

The Natchez were quite expert in supplying their few 
and simple wants. Mr. Gayarre, referring to their invent- 
ive faculty, in making implements to meet their require- 
ments, has this to say : 

"To cut down timber, they had flint axes, ingeniously 
contrived, and to sever flesh, either raw or cooked, they 
had knives made of a peculiar kind of keen-edged reed, 
called conchac. They used for their bows the acacia wood, 
and their bow-strings were made either of the bark of 
trees, or the skins of animals. Their arrows, made of 
reed, were winged with the feathers of birds, and when 
destined to kill buffaloes or deer their points were armed 



248 HISTOEY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

with sharp pieces of bone, and particularly of fish bone. 

"The Natchez understood the art of dressing or prepar- 
ing buffalo, deer and beaver skins, and those of other ani- 
mals, so as to provide themselves with very comfortable 
clothing for the winter, and they used as awls for sewing, 
small, thin bones, which they took from the legs of her- 
ons. Their huts were made of rude materials, such as 
rough timber and a combination of mud, sand and Span- 
ish moss, worked together in a solid sort of mortar and 
forming their walls, to which they gave a thickness of 
four inches. The roofs were of intermingled grass and 
reeds, so skillfully put together that these roofs would 
last for twenty years without leaking. The huts were 
square and usually measured fifteen feet by fifteen ; some, 
however, such as those of the chiefs, were thirty feet 
square, and even more. They had no other aperture for 
egress or ingress, or for admitting light, than a door which 
generally was two feet wide by four in height. The frames 
of the beds of the Natchez, which were two feet from the 
floor, were of wood, but the inside was of a soft and elas- 
tic texture of plaited or woven reeds ; and those unsophis- 
ticated sons of nature had, to rest during che day, noth- 
ing but hard ani low wooden seats, without backs to lean 
against. 

"Their agriculture, before they became acquainted with 
the French, who taught them the use of wheat and flour, 
was limited to the cultivation of corn, which they knew 
how to grind with a wooden apparatus. Their women had 
arrived at considerable proficiency in the manufacturing 
of earthenware, and they made all sorts of pots, pitchers, 
bottles, bowls, dishes and plates bearing designs, among 
which it is pretended that Grecian letters and Hebrew 
characters are plainly to be discovered. Their crockery 
was generally of a reddish color. They also excelled 
in making sieves and winnowing fans. With the bark 
of the linden or lime tree, they made very beautiful nets 
to catch birds or fish. They knew how to dye skins in 
several colors ; of those which they liked best were the 
white, the yellow, the red and the black, and their taste 
was to use them in alternate stripes. The skins thus dyed, 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 249 

particularly that of the porcupine, they embroidered with 
considerable art, and the drawings were somewhat of a 
gothic character. They also made bed coverings and 
cloaks with the bark of the mulberry tree, and with the 
feathers of turkeys, ducks and geese. Like the other In- 
dians, the Natchez had not carried very far the science of 
navigation, and to cross rivers, they had learned to scoop 
the trunks of trees which they shaped into canoes. Some 
of their largest canoes measured forty feet in length by 
four in width. They were generally made to carry twelve 
persons, and were exceedingly light. These boats were 
propelled by the means of paddles six feet long. 

"During the summer, men and women were always half 
naked and bare-footed, except when traveling. Then they 
would wear shoes, (mocasins), made of the skin of deer. 
For ornaments they wore rings or painted bones through 
their ears and noses, and in the shape of brac<^lets around 
their arms and legs. They were also very fond of painted 
glass beads, which they interwove with their hair, or car- 
ried round their necks in the shape of collars, to which 
they added the teeth of alligators, or the claws of wild 
beasts. These same painted glass beads they also used in 
ornamenting their leather garments, and they composed 
with them fanciful embroideries. The vermillion with 
which they painted their bodies was one of their favorite 
embellishments, together with the hieroglyphic figures, or 
crude heraldic devices, with which they used to impregnate 
their skins from head to foot." 

The Natchez had two languages, one for the use of the 
nobility, the other for the sole use of the common people. 
The tribe was divided into three separate classes. First 
came the Sovereign, the Great Sun, with his family, the 
Little Sons, who comprised what was called the nobility; 
then followed the men of prominence and consideration, 
what would be called in England, "the gentry;" the third 
class embraced the common people, the lowly born, who 
had achieved nothing to lift them above their fellows, and 
these were called in the dialect of their tribe, ^'-micheqiUpy,'''' 
or the ^''stinkingy 

The Yazoo Indians, a small tribe that occupied a por- 



250 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

tion of what is now known as Yazoo county, were few in 
numbers, but warlike, ferocious and cruel. The last of that 
tribe perished many years ago. They had not the stamina, 
or staying qualities of the other powerful tribes who then 
occupied this vast territory, and hence they faded rapidly 
away before the onward march of the white race. 

The Choctaw Indians, a large and powerful tribe, were 
in possession of an immense territory, extending from the 
lower Tombigbee in a northwesterly direction, to the Mis- 
sissippi river. The Choctaws owned nearly all of south- 
eastern Mississippi, much of the central portion of the 
State, and nine-tenths of the "delta of the Yazoo," which 
embraces the most fertile and productive soil in the world. 
The delta of the Yazoo is nearly as extensive in area as 
the famous delta of the Nile, and is undeniably more fruit- 
ful of productive wealth. The Yazoo delta is the home of 
the cotton plant, and from the prolific soil of the delta 
lands cotton grows in luxuriance, yielding its wealth pro- 
ducing staple in regal abundance. 

The Hon. Charles Gayarre has the following in reference 
to the original proprietors of the magnificent territory to 
which attention has just been called: 

"The Choctaws occupied a very large territory between 
the Mississippi and the Tombigbee rivers, from the fron- 
tiers of the Colapisas and the Biloxis, on the shores of 
lakes Pontchartrain and Borgne, up to the frontiers of the 
Natchez, of the Yazoos and of the Chickasaws. They 
owned more than fifty important villages, and it was said 
at one time, they could have brought into the field twenty- 
five thousand warriors. Chacta, Chatka or Choctaw, spell- 
ing it according to the various pronunciations, means 
charming voice in the Indian dialect. It appears that the 
Choctaws had a great aptitude for music and singing, hence 
the name that was given to them. Yery little is known 
about their origin, although some writers pretend that they 
came from the province of Kamtschatka. It is said that 
they suddenly made their appearance, and rapidly over- 
ran the whole country. That appearance was so spontane- 
ous that it seemed as if they had sprung up from the earth 
like mushrooms. With regard to their manners, their cus- 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 25i 

toms and their degree of civilization, it is suflScient to say 
that they had many characteristic traits in common with 
other Indian nations. However, they were much inferior 
to the Natchez in many respects. They had more imper- 
fect notions of the divinity, and were much more supersti 
tious. They were proverbially tilthy and stupid in the 
estimation of all who knew them, and they were exceed- 
ingly boastful, although notoriously less brave than any 
of the other red tribes. 

What the Choctaws were most conspicuous for was their 
hatred of falsehood and their love of truth. Tradition re- 
lates that one of their chiefs became so addicted to the vice 
of lying that in disgust they drove him away from their terri- 
tory. In the now parish of Orleans, back of Gentilly, there 
is a tract of land in the shape of an isthmus, projecting itself 
into lake Pontchartrain, not far from the Rigolets, and 
terminating in what is called '"pointe aux herbes," or herb 
point. It was there that the exiled Choctaw chief retired 
with his family and a few adherents, near a bayou which 
discharges itself into the lake. From this circumstance 
this tract of land received, and still retains the appellation 
of Chef Menteur, or "Lying Chiet." 

The Choctaws were the uniform friends of the French, 
and neither the wiles nor the lures of the English wereN 
ever able to detach them from a people whom they hadl 
befriended in their hour of weakness, whom they had fed ' 
when threatened with starvation, and whose battles they 
had fought for many years. The French were indebted to 
the Choctaws on many occasions, notably in their wars 
with the Natchez and Chickasaw Indians, and in the war 
with their Spanish neighbors at Pensacola. 

At a later day, when the American government obtained 
Irom Spain a cession ot ail the territory comprised within 
the present State of Mississippi, the Choctaws transferred 
their friendship to the Americans, and they never swerved 
in their allegiance and devotion to the cause of their new 
allies and friends. One of the most conspicuous chiefs of 
the Choctaw nation in its latter days in Mississippi, was 
Pushmataha, who was born on the soil of the State about 
the year 1765. He became distinguised on the war-path 



252 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

before he reached the age of twenty. Joining an expedi- 
tion against the Osages, west of the Mississippi river, he 
was laughed at by the elder warriors as a "boy." The 
Osages were soon after defeated, after a desperate battle 
which lasted an entire day. Young Pushmataha disap- 
peared early in the fight and was seen no more during the 
day. Returning at the midnight hour he was jeered at, and 
cowardice was openly charged against him. The only reply 
he deigned to make was, "let those laugh who can show more 
scalps than I can," and taking from his girdle five human 
scalps, be flung them at the feet of his jeering companions. 
These scalps were the trophies he had won in an attack he 
had made single handed and alone on the rear of the 
enemy. This gallant feat of arms won for Pushmataha the 
proud title of "The Eagle." After spending several years 
in Mexico, he returned to his own tribe east of the Missis- 
sippi. He was frequently on the war-path against other 
Indian tribes, and constantly added to his reputation for 
courage. It is related of him when absent on a foray, that 
ou one occasion he entered a hostile village in Tennessee, 
alone one night, and with his own hand killed seven of 
his enemies, set fire to the village, and eff'ected his escape 
in safety and unharmed. In the next two years he made 
a raid into the country of the enemies of his nation and 
secured eight additional scalps as trophies of his prowess. 

During the war of 1812 and 1815 with England, Push- 
mataha promptly declared himself in favor of the Ameri- 
cans. A council of the Choctaw Nation was assembled to 
consider the question on which side the Choctaws should 
align themselves. The council was in session ten whole 
days and the discussions waxed warm. All the chiefs and 
head men, save only Pushmataha and John'Pitchlyn, coun- 
selled the neutrality of the Choctaws. Until the last day 
of the council Pushmataha remained silent. He then rose 
and said : 

"The Creeks were once our friends. They have joined 
the English, and we must now follow different trails. 
When our fathers took the hand of Washington they told 
him the Choctaws would always be the friends of his 
people, and Pushmataha cannot be false to their promises. 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 253 

I am now ready to fight against both the English and the 
Creeks. T and my warriors are going to Tuscaloosa, and 
when you hear from us again the Creek fort will be in 
ashes." 

This prophecy was promptly realized. The Creeks and 
Seminoles had formed an alliance and were acting in con- 
cert m the interest of England, and Pushmataha waged a 
most vigorous and successful war against both, and the 
whites who were much pleased with his brilliant and suc- 
cessful efforts against their enemies gave him the title of 
'the Indian General." 

In the year 1824, Pushmataha visited the great White 
father in Washington, where he was received with much 
distinction by President Monroe, and his Secretary of War 
the Hon. John C. Calhoun. After visiting the Marquis de 
Latayette who was then in the city as the guest of the 
nation, Pushmataha was taken seriously ill. Finding that 
his life was drawing rapidly to a close, he expressed the 
desire that he should be buried with military honors such 
as became a warrior, and that the "big guns" should be 
hred over his grave. His last request was religiously com- 
plied with. He was accorded all the honors of a military 
funeral, such as befitted a great chief. A procession, civil 
and military, of more than a mile in length, followed the 
dead chief to his last resting place in the Congressional 
Lemetery, and as the last honor the "big guns" were fired 
to herald his approach to the happy hunting grounds of 
ills race. 

Thus perished Pushmataha, the great Choctaw warrior 
Pushmataha was of humble and lowly origin. In other 
words, he could not trace his lineage from a long line of 
warriors, a fact, of which, like the great Napoleon, he was 
proud. Napoleon, at the height of his power, exclaimed 
"I am the founder of my own dynasty," and the great 
Choctaw chief once said: "I had no father, no mother 
no brother, no sister. The winds howled, the rain fell the 
thunder roared and the lightning flashed ; a pine tree'was 
shivered and from its splinters Pushmataha stepped forth 
with his rifle on his shoulder !" 

General Andrew Jackson, who kne.y Pushmataha well, 



254 « HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

and who was entirely familiar with his career, frequently 
expressed the opinion that the great Choctaw chief wag 
"the greatest and the bravest Indian" he had ever known. 
This was praise of the highest character, and coming from 
a man who knew what he was talking about, would have 
warmed the heart of the old chief could he have heard it. 

A tribute of like character was paid Pushmataha by the 
Hon. John Randolph, of Virginia. In the course of a 
eulogy pronounced on him by the eloquent Virginian, in 
the Senate of the United States, Mr. Randolph declared 
that he "was wise in council, eloquent in an extraordinary 
degree, and on all occasions and under all circumstances, 
the white man's friend." 

Another large and powerful tribe, the Chickasaw Indians, 
1 occupied an immense scope of beautifully undulating 
territory, extending from the upper Tombigbee due west 
I to the Father of Waters. They also claimed a small por- 
tion of what is now the State of Tennessee, that portion 
abutting upon what is now the northern boundary of Mis- 
sissippi. 

The Chickasaw tribe constituted a large, powerful and 
warlike nation. They were brave, cruel, implacable and 
bloodthirsty. They had their principal towns and villages 
in what are now known as Monroe and Pontotoc counties. 
Their chiet towns were in the latter county, and their 
largest one was in the vicinity of the present town of 
Pontotoc. 

Gayarre has this to say of the Chickasaw Indians : 

"They numbered from two to three thousand warriors, 
and were by far the most warlike of all the (Louisiana) 
Mississippi tribes. They had numerous slaves, well 
cultivated fields and large herds of cattle. They never 
deviated in their attachment to the English, and they 
became exceedingly troublesome to the French. With 
some shades of difference, they had, in the main, the irras- 
cible and well known attributes of the Indian character. 
Therefore, to pursue the subject into further details would, 
perhaps, be running the danger of falling into the dullness 
of monotonous and uninteresting description. Suffice it 
to say, that they were the Spartans, as the Natchez were 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 255 

the Athenians, and the Choctaws the Beotians of (Louis- 
iana) Mississippi." 

The remark of Mr. Gayarre, that the Chickasaws "be- 
came exceedingly troublesome to the French," is well cal- 
culated to provoke a smile, with those who are familiar 
with the fact that the Chickasaws drove back in disgrace 
three large and powerful expeditions which the French 
sent against them. ''Exceedingly troublesome" is a fine 
phrase, but it does not express the several severe defeats 
inflicted on the French by the Chickasaw Indians, and the 
loss sustained by the arms of La Belle France. 

Col. Claiborne in his volume "Mississippi as a Province, 
Territory and State," furnishes an interesting tradition of 
the origin of the Choctaw and Chickasaw Indians, which is 
given in his own words : 

"The Choctaws believed that their ancestors came from 
the West. They were led by two brothers, Chacta and 
Chicsa, at the head of their respective Iksas, or clans. On 
their journey they followed a pole, which, guided by an 
invisible hand, moved before them. Shortly after cross- 
ing the Mississippi, the pole stood still, firmly planted in 
the ground, and they construed this as an augury that 
here they must halt and make their homes. What con- 
nection this may have with, and how far it has been de- 
rived from, the exodus of the Israelites, and "the cloud by 
day and the pillar of fire by night," is for the curious to 
determine ; but the pole moving in the march before them 
is the oldest and best established tradition of the Choc- 
taws and Chickasaws. 

"The two leaders concluded to reconnoitre the country. 
Chicsa moved first, and ten days thereafter Chacta fol- 
lowed, but a tremendous snow storm had obliterated his 
brother's trail and they were separated. He went souther- 
ly to Nanawayya on the head-waters of Pearl river, about 
the geographical center of the State, and the other brother, 
it was afterwards ascertained, settled near where Pontotoc 
now stands. At the first meeting of the brothers it was 
determined that the two clans should constitute separate 
tribes, each occupying their respective territories, and the 
hunters of neither band should encroach on the territory 



256 HISTORY or Mississippi. 

of the other. The present Oktibbeha and the Nusicheah, 
were indicated as the line of demarkation. 

"The Choctaws preserve a dim tradition that, after cross- 
ing the Mississippi they met a race of men whom the}^ 
called Na-hou-lo, tall in stature and of fair complexion, 
who had emigrated from the sun-rise. They had once 
been a mighty people, but were then few in number, and 
soon disappeared after the incoming of the Choctaws. 
This race of men were, according to the tradition, tillers 
of the soil and peaceable. There had likewise been a race 
of Cannibals, who feasted on the bodies of their enemies. 
They, too, were giants, and utilized the Mammoth as their 
burden bearers. They kept them closely herded, and as 
they devoured everything and broke down the forests, this 
was the origin of the prairies. 

"This Cannibal race and the Mammoth perished about 
the same time, by a great epidemic. Only one of the lat- 
ter escaped, who made his home for several years near the 
Tombigbee. The Great Spirit struck him several times 
with lightning, but he presented his head to the bolt and 
it glanced off. Annoyed, however, by these attempts, he 
Hed to Soc-te-thou-fah (the present Memphis), and at one 
mighty leap cleared the river, and made his way to the 
Rocky Mountains. 

"They have a tradition of a great drought that occurred 
during the early part of the eighteenth century. It was 
particularly severe in the prairie region. IS'ot a drop of 
rain fell for three years. The Noxubee and Tombigbee 
rivers dried up. The forest trees perished. The elk and 
the buffalo, then numerous, migrated beyond the Missis- 
sippi, and neither of these species returned. Towards the 
close of the third year it began to rain, and continued for 
two moons, and the Great Spirit had forgiven them. 

"The Choctaws and Chickasaws had occasional conflicts, 
particularly after the whites appeared in the country. The 
former were allies of the French. The latter were under 
English control, and the rivalry of these kept the two kin- 
dred tribes on bad terms. They had a great battle about 
two miles south of the present town of West Point. There 
may be seen two mounds, about oneh^-- r-^r* yards apart. 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 257 

After they came to terms and erected these mounds over 
their dead, to the neighboring stream they gave the name 
of Oka-tibbe-ha, in their dialect 'fighting' or 'bloody water.' 

"The Noxubee river owes its name to one of these bloody 
frays. Noxubee is a corruption of Oka-nahka-shua, stink- 
ing bullet water. Thus : Oka^ water ; NahJca, bullet ; 
SJiua, stinking." 

The same author has this reference to the Chocchuma 
Indians : 

"The hunters of the Chocchumas, a once powerful tribe 
that occupied the Tallahatchie and Yalobusha valleys, 
had intruded on the Tombigbee prairies, the hunting 
ground of the Chickasaws and Choctaws, and the warriors 
of these tribes attacked them, slew many and cast their 
bodies into the river, hence the name given to the stream. 

"This, of course, caused retaliation, and a general war 
ensued. The Chocchumas had once lived low down on the 
Yazoo river, were in alliance with the Natchez, and had 
immigrated to the Tallahatchie valley about the time the 
Choctaws arrived from the west. Each regarded the oth- 
ers as intruders. The Chocchumas were a warlike race, 
and had been greatly reduced by war. They were finally 
exterminated by the allied Chickasaws and Choctaws. 
This last battle was fought six miles west of Belle Fon- 
taine, on the old Grenada road, on the land now owned by 
C. M. Roberts. Chulahoma, (Red Fox), their most renowned 
warrior, resided there with his followers. He was attacked 
in his village, and all but a few women and children were 
slain. In 1830, an old half-breed, Coleman Cole, resided 
there, and claimed to be the sole surviving warrior of the 
Chocchuma tribe. The decisive battle occurred at Lyon's 
Bluft', on the south side of Line Creek, eight miles north- 
east of Starkville. This Blufi" was the site of a cemetery 
of the mound builders. Here the Chocchuma warriors, with 
many of their wives and children were posted, and here 
they were besieged by the Choctaws on the south and in 
front, while the Chickasaws were in position on the north 
side of the creek, so there was no outlet for retreat. The 
siege was one ;i>'-x)tracted fight until the last of the Choc- 
17 



258 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

chuma warriors fell, and then the women fought until the 
most of them had perished. 

"At the conclusion of this war the victorious tribes re- 
established their boundaries. Line Creek was afterwards 
known by the Chickasaws as Nusic-heah, "you asleep,'' 
because on one occasion the Choctaws attacked them there 
when unprepared or asleep." 

These mighty tribes, the original occupants and owners 
of the wide domain of Mississippi, have long since passed 
away from the land of their homes. The worshippers of 
the sun, the fierce and warlike Natchez, have faded from 
the face of the earth, and are entirely extinct. The pow- 
erful Choctaw and Chickasaw nations have crossed the 
great Father of Waters, and found homes and hunting 
grounds nearer the setting sun. A remnant only of the 
famous Choctaw Nation, memorable for their friendship 
and inflexible fidelity to the white race, are dwellers on 
the vast domain their fathers ruled with kingly power. A 
few hundred harmless Choctaws, the owners of small farms, 
upon which they pay taxes, are all that is left in Mississippi 
to remind one of the once powerful Choctaw Nation, whose 
warriors were led to battle and to victory by their great 
Chief, Pushmataha, and always on the side of the white 
race, their friends and neighbors. 



CHAPTER XII. 



MISSISSIPPPI AS A STATE -1817 to 1883. 



THE ADMINISTRATION OF GOVERNOR HOLMES. 

AS the first Executive, elected by the people, Governdr 
David Holmes, in conjunction with other officials of 
the State, proceeded in a business and orderly way, during 
the first year of his term, in putting into operation the 
machinery of the State government in conformity with the 
provisions of the Constitution. His long experience and 
successful career in public life enabled him to organize 
the several departments of the State and county govern- 
ments without causing the least friction, and it may be 
truthfully alleged that at the end of his gubernatorial 
term of two years, he enjoyed the respect and confidence 
of all the people whom he had so long and faithfully served. 
He was succeeded in 1819 by the election of Hon. Greorge 
Poindexter. 



thj: administration of governor poindexter. 

George Poindexter, born in Louisa county, in the State 
of Virginia, in the year 1779, and the youngest son of a 
Baptist clergyman of that county, was the second Governor 
of the commonwealth of Mississippi ; and it may be safel}' 
declared that since the hour he was installed in the execu- 
tive office, down to the present day, he has had no superior 
in that position. He was recognized in Mississippi, as in 
the National Capitol, as an intellectuil giant. As an ora- 
tor he was eloquent and powerful. As a statesman he 



260 HISTORY OF MISSISPIPFI. 

possessed broad, comprehensive and catholic views, not 
only on questions of national concern, but on all questions 
of international law he was equally sound. As a jurist he 
was learned and profound. As a Senator he stood shoulder 
to shoulder with the master intellects of that body, at a 
time when Henry Clay, Daniel Webster, John C. Calhoun 
and George McDufRe, were his compeers in the Senatorial 
arena. It may be said with entire truth that George 
Poindexter was ranked among the ablest and most eloquent 
Senators then in the public service. 

Mr. Poindexter arrived at Natchez late in December, in 
the year 1802, and soon succeeded in acquiring a good 
practice in his profession. It did not require a long time 
for him to impress upon everyone with whom he came in 
contact, the idea that in intellectual vigor he was a very 
superior man, and destined to become distinguished in the 
home of his adoption. In less than four months after his 
arrival at Natchez, Governor Claiborne appointed him 
Attorney- General of the Mississippi Territory. 

Having been elected the first representative in Congress in 
1817, two years later, in 1819, Poindexter was elected Gov- 
ernor, and during his term, at the request of the legisla- 
ture, he revised and codified the laws of the State, and 
what is still known as "Poindexter's Code" remains to-day 
as one of the best, if not the very best that has yet been 
produced in the State. 

In the year 1830, George Poindexter was elected by the 
legislature to succeed Robert H. Adams, deceased, in the 
Senate of the United States, where he served for five years. 
In 1835 Mr. Poindexter became a candidate for re-election, 
but was defeated by Robert J. Walker. 

This defeat was the close of his political career, and he 
died in the capital of the State September 5, 1855, and after 
a long and stormy life he sleeps peacefully in the cemetery 
at Jackson. 



THE ADMINISTRATION OF GOVERNOR LEAKE. 

Walter Leake, a native of Albermarle county, Vir- 
ginia, was the third Governor of Mississippi, and was 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 261 

elected Governor in the summer of 1821 .'and was re-elected 
to the same position in 1823. 

He came to the Territory at an early day bearing a com- 
mission from the President of the United States as one of 
thejudges in the Territory of Mississippi. He established 
his home in Claiborne county, where he so commended 
himself to the people of that county, that, when Congress 
had authorized the assembling of a convention to frame a 
constitution under which the Territory could enter the 
Union as a State, he was chosen one of the delegates from 
that county. 

As a judge he was able, learned, upright, impartial and 
courteous. No one ever questioned his thorough integrit3^ 
the purity of his life in official position, or in private per- 
sonal intercourse with the people. In the Convention he 
was firm, prudent and patriotic — always zealous in pro- 
moting the interests of the people, and carefully protecting 
their rights. He so impressed his integrity, ability and 
courage on the bench and in the Convention, that he was 
chosen by the first Legislature that ever assembled in the 
State as one of the United States Senators. He served in 
that body until the 4th of March, 1821, when he resigned 
to become a candidate for Governor. He served with so 
much acceptability, during the two years of his first term, 
that the people re-elected him for a second term, which 
closed with th^year 1825. Governor Leake, however, had 
been for several years in failing health, and on the 17th 
day of November, 1825, he died at the village of Clinton, 
(then called Mount Salus), in the county of Hinds, about 
ten miles from the capital. 

Walter Leake was an unquestioned patriot, and an hon- 
orable, educated gentleman ; and while there was nothing 
of great and striking interest or importance during his ad- 
ministration of nearly four years, he labored assiduously, 
and cooperated zealously with the legislators of those 
days, to advance the prosperity of the State and the happi- 
ness of its people. In his life he builded his own best mon- 
ument — the only monument that man can crave— a lasting 
memorial in the hearts of his countrymen of patriotic 
devotion to all public and private duties, and those duties 
well and faithfully performed. 



262 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

Governor Leake left several children, and Ms descend- 
ants, in the persons of his grand and great grand-children, 
are to be found to-day in more than one county in the 
State, all respected and honorable citizens. His name has 
been perpetuated by the Legislature, and it is borne to- 
day by one of the counties of the State. 

When Governor Leake passed from this world his duties 
were devolved upon Lieutenant-Governor Gerard 0. Bran- 
don, who performed all the functions of chief magistrate 
until the successor of Governor Leake was qualified and 
entered upon the discharge of his duties. 

At the first election of Governor Leake, in 1821, Dr. 
David Dickson was chosen Lieutenant-Governor, and when 
he was re-elected in 1823, Gerard C. Brandon was elected 
for the position held by Dr. Dickson for the two previous 
years. 



THE ADMINISTRATION OF GOVERNOR BRANDON. 

Gerard C. Brandon, a native of Mississippi as a Ter- 
ritory, and born in Adams county, was the fifth Governor 
of the young and growing State, of which his father, Mr. 
Gerard Brandon, was one of the conspicuous and promi- 
nent pioneers. His father took a leading part in the affairs 
of the province while yet an appanage of the English and of 
the Spanish crowns, and when Spain ceded the Territory 
to the United States he became immediately a prominent 
and leading citizen in all affairs engaging public attention 
— sharing with the ablest and most conspicuous gentle- 
men in the country in the important duty of caring for the 
interests of the people of the infant Territory, and in shap- 
ing and giving direction to the best public sentiment of the 
day. We frequently hear of Mr. Gerard Brandon as com- 
manding a company of his friends and neighbors, either 
to protect the women and the children from their merciless 
Indian foes, or to punish and repel Spanish encroachments 
upon our frontiers. 

His son, Gerard C, Brandon, inherited in large measure 
his soldierly instincts, and he is heard of when quite a 



HI8TOKY OF MISSISSIPPI. 263 

young man as commanding a military company composed 
of the best blood of the infant community in which for- 
tune had cast his destiny, and marching promptly to the 
frontier to meet the hostile red savages, and avenge the 
slaughter of their countrymen and countryw^omen. 

Young Brandon achieved great popularity in his county — 
Wilkinson, formed out of the original territory of Adams — 
and when Congress authorized the assembling of a consti- 
tutional convention, Mr Brandon became one of the five 
chosen delegates from Wilkinson county, three of whom 
were destined to become Governors of the State. In that 
body Mr. Brandon took a conspicuous and leading part, 
and was vigilant and earnest in protecting the rights and 
privileges of the people under the organic law then being 
formulated. 

Gerard C. Brandon occupies a very unique position in 
the history of Mississippi. He was the Lieutenant-Gov- 
ernor during the chief magistracy of two Governors, (Leake 
and Holmes, and during the second term of each,) and it is 
a remarkable coincidence that the official duties and func- 
tions of both Governors were devolved upon him. Walter 
Leake died some six weeks before the expiration of his 
official term, when it became necessary for Mr. Brandon to 
assume the duties of the executive, and in pursuance of 
that duty he transmitted, as the Governor ex officio, the 
annual message to the legislature, in January, 1826. Later, 
David Holmes was installed as Governor, and in the fall 
of that year he resigned, in consequence of ill-health, 
Lieutenant-Governor Brandon assuming once more the 
duties of the executive. In January, 1827, he again deliv- 
ered the annual message to both branches of the legisla- 
ture, and continued to perform the duties of the execu- 
tive until the expiration of the official term of Governor 
Holmes. 

In the summer of 1827, Gerard C Brandon was chosen 
Governor, with Abram M. Scott as Lieutenant Governor, 
and in 1829 both were re-elected for the second time. 

The second term of Governor Brandon, covering the years 
1830 and 1831, was rendered conspicuous by the passage of 
two acts, one to establish The Planters' Bank of the State 



264 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

of Mississippi, and the other calling a Convention to revise* 
modify or make a new Constitution. 

While only a Territory, the Legislature had incorpor- 
ated the "Bank of Mississippi." In the year 1818, the 
year after the admission of the State into the Union, the 
Legislature increased the capital of the bank, changed its 
name to the " Bank of the State of Mississippi," and fool- 
ishly gave to that corporation exclusive banking privileges. 
The domicile of the bank was established at Natchez, then 
the largest and most prosperous town in the State, with 
power to establish branches in various localities. 

Twelve years only had elapsed. The State had greatly 
increased in population, its agriculture had extended, and 
the State was growing rapidly. An increase of the bank- 
ing capital of the State, an expansion of the circulating 
medium of the country, was recognized on all hands. In 
response to this universal demand, the Legislature of the 
State, at its annual session in 1830, determined, despite the 
exclusive privileges conferred upon the Bank of the State 
of Mississippi, to incorporate an additional bank, to be 
known as the " Planters' Bank of the State of Mississippi," 
with a capital of $3,000,000. This act of incorporation was 
approved February 10th, 1830. Two-thirds of the capital 
stock was reserved for subscription by the State, and the 
Governor was authorized to subscribe for twenty thousand 
shares of the capital stock in the name and on behalf of 
the State of Mississippi, aggregating ($2,000,000) two mil- 
lions of dollars. 

Section 2d of the act of incorporation was in the fol- 
lowing words: "And be it further enacted. That the faith 
of the State of Mississippi is hereby pledged to make good 
all losses which may accrue from a deficiency of the funds 
of the said bank, or by other means, in proportion to the 
amount of stock which the State shall possess therein ; 
and that each and every stockholder shall, in his private 
and natural capacity, be held liable to each and every per- 
son who shall suffer damage or loss by the means afore- 
said, to make good said loss or damage in a ratio propor- 
tioned to the amount of stock which he, she, or they, shall 
hold in said bank." 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 265 

The Governor was also empowered to have prepared, 
and issued the bonds of the State of Mississippi for the 
sum of two millions of dollars, to be signed by the Gover- 
nor, and countersigned by the Auditor of Public Accounts, 
and when so signed and countersigned, it was made the 
duty of the Governor to deliver the said bonds to the Pres- 
ident and Directors of the Planters' Bank, in payment of 
the subscription of stock made for and by the State. It 
was also made the duty of the President and Directors of 
the Planters' Bank, to sell the bonds delivered to them by 
the Governor for specie only. 

Section 7th also prescribed : " Which said bonds shall 
be under the seal of the State, signed by the Governor, 
and countersigned by the Auditor of Public Accounts, and 
may be assigned by the endorsement of the President and 
Cashier of said bank on the back thereof, either to the 
order of any person, or to the bearer ; and the endorsement 
thereof shall appoint the place where the said half yearly 
interest shall be paid ; all expenses attending the issuance 
of such bonds to be defrayed by the bank with the funds 
thereof." 

Section 8th was in the words following: "And be it 
further enacted, that the faith of the State of Mississippi 
be and the same is hereby pledged for the payment of the 
principal and interest of the said bonds, upon the falling 
due thereof, and also the stock of the State in said bank 
shall be, and the same is hereby pledged for the payment 
of the same." 

Section 11th, providing for the payment of interest on 
the bonds sold by the Planters' Bank, was in the following 
language: "That if the dividend arising from the stock 
subscribed for the State, as is herein specified, shall be 
insufficient to meet the interest accruing on the said bonds, 
and the payment and extinguishment thereof, when the 
same shall become due, the said bank shall supply such 
deficiency, and charge the same to the account of the State 
of Mississippi, and for the payment thereof the faith of 
the State is hereby pledged y 

The Board of Directors was, by the act of incorporation, 
made to consist of thirteen, seven to be chosen by the 



266 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

State, and six by the individual stockholders ; and no 
stockholder, not a resident of the State, could be eligible 
as a Director. 

The domicile of the bank was established at Natchez, 
with the privilege of removing it to the capital of the 
State, whenever that should be permanently established. 
The power to locate and establish branches was also con- 
ferred upon the Directors, the first being at the town of 
Vicksburg, in Warren, and Rodney, in Jefferson county. 

Of the bonds of the State, authorized to be delivered to 
the Planter's Bank of Mississippi, in payment of the stock 
subscribed for in the name of the State in that institution, 
($500,000) five hundred thousand dollars worth were sold 
in the year 1831, and the remaining ($1,500,000) one mil- 
lion five hundred thousand dollars worth were disposed of 
in the course of the year 1833, and the money received 
therefor placed in the vaults of the bank. 

The Constitution of 1817, unlike that of 1832, contained 
no prohibitory clause against pledging the faith of the 
State, and hence the Legislature was clothed with plenary 
power in the premises. 

The bonds had been sold by the agents of the bank, in 
strict conformity with the provisions of the law authoriz- 
ing their issuance, and for specie only, and the proceeds 
were promptly paid over to the officers in charge of the 
institution. The business of the bank was conducted on 
what are usually regarded as sound business principles, 
and was in a highly prosperous condition until the great 
financial tempest, which swept over the entire country in 
1837, came to blast and paralyze the commercial prosperity 
of the whole Union. 

The opinion was quite prevalent that the State had out- 
grown the Constitution made in 1817. The population 
had nearly doubled since that organic law was framed, 
and the desire was frequently expressed that the old Con- 
stitution should be greatly modified, or that an entirely 
new one, better calculated to meet the needs of a prosper- 
ous and growing State, should be formulated at an early 
day. 

The legislature, in the year 1830, took the proposition 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 267 

under consideration, and the conclusion reached stamps 
ihe legislators of that period as wise and prudent guar- 
dians of the public weal. It is worthy of remark that the 
members of the legislature of that day were particularly 
anxious to consult the wishes of the people and to know 
their will in the premises. 

In the early days of the session an act was passed and 
approved December 15, 1830, the preamble to which was in 
the following language : 

"Whereas, the General Assembly of the State of Missis- 
sippi have, by a resolution passed by a constitutional 
majority at the present session, recommended to the elec- 
tors, at the next election for members of the General As- 
sembly, to vote for, or against a Convention, for the pur- 
pose of revising, amending, or changing the Constitution 
of the State of Mississippi. 

"Therefore, for the purpose of ascertaining the will and 
wishes of the people thereon. Be it enacted, etc.'''' 

This act provided for taking the sense of the people on 
the subject, and declared that it should be the duty of the 
sheriffs of the several counties "to advertise in the manner, 
and at the same time prescribed by law, preceding the 
next August election, for advertising elections for the mem- 
bers of the General Assembly, that the polls will be 
opened for the purpose of talcing the sense of the people 
whether they desire a Convention or not ; and all qualified 
electors authorized to vote for members of Congress or of 
the General Assembly, shall be, and they are hereby au- 
thorized to write on the back or margin of their tickets, 
the words Convention or No Convention, and it shall be 
the duty of the returning officer," to make proper returns 
of the election, etc. 

The people, by a decisive majority, expressed their 
desire for a Convention. The election was held in August, 
1631, and at the following session of the Legislature an act 
was passed and approved December 16, 1831, calling the 
Convention, and apportioning the representation to the 
several counties. 

It is a noteworthy fact that the act of the Legislature call- 
ing the Convention fixed the compensation of the mem- 



268 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

bers thereof, providing, that ''as a remuneration of their 
services, the officers and members of the Convention shall 
be respectively allowed the same compensation in all re- 
spects as is allowed by law to officers and members of the 
General Assembly, and on the deliver}/ of a certificate of 
the sum due, under the hand of the President of the Con- 
vention, the Auditor shall issue his warrant for the amount 
on the Treasurer, to be paid out of any money in the 
Treasury not otherwise appropriated.''^ 

The preamble and resolution referred to in the preamble 
to the act submitting the question of Convention or no Con- 
vention to the people for their action, is also noteworthy. 
They were in the following words : 

"Whereas, In the opinion of the General Assembly, the 
period has arrived that the privilege contained in that part 
of the Constitution of the State of Mississippi, denomi- 
nated the mode of revising the Constitution, should now 
be extended to the electors of the State of Mississippi ; 
therefore be it 

"Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives 
of the State of Mississippi, in General Assembly convened, 
{two-thirds of the General Assembly coiicurring therein) 
that the General Assembly do now recommend to the elec- 
tors^ at the next election for members of the General As- 
sembly, to ibote for or against a Conr^entionP 

It is apparent that the legislators at that early day, 
properly considered themselves as the servants, and not 
the masters of the sovereign people. 

The administration of Governor Brandon closed with 
the year 1831, and he is heard of no more in connection 
with public life in Mississippi. This writer has no per- 
sonal knowledge of Gerard C. Brandon and never saw 
him; but if he was anything like his knightly and chival- 
ric brother, the late Gen. William L. Brandon, the 
maimed soldier (he lost a leg at the battle of Malvern Hill,) 
and gentleman, who peacefully passed away in the nine- 
tieth year of his age only last year, and had the entire pop- 
ulation of Wilkinson county for his mourners, the conclu- 
sion is inevitable that Gerard C. Brandon was of high, 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 269 

beroic character, the very soul of honor and of the most 
unquestioned courage. 

When Mr. Brandon was first elected Governor in 1827, 
Abram M. Scott, of the same county, was chosen Lieuten- 
ant Governor, and in 1829, they were both re-elected. 
There seemed to be no serious objection to selecting for 
these important positions two gentlemen from one county, 
at that early period, provided the same county could fur- 
nish the proper men to meet the popular expectation, 
though such a thing would scarcely be thought of at the 
present day. 

THE ADMINISTRATION OF GOVERNOR SCOTT. 

i^BRAM M. ScoTT, a native of South Carolina, was the 
sixth Governor chosen by the people of Mississippi. Mr. 
Scott came to the Mississippi Territory at an early day, 
and was heard of in the year 1811 as commander of a 
company in a regiment which was called out by Governor 
Holmes to punish the Indians for the massacre of more 
than two hundred and fifty men, women and children at 
Fort Mims, in what is now known as the State of Ala- 
bama, though it then formed an integral portion of the 
Mississippi Territory. Mr. Scott was a bright, courageous 
and honorable gentleman, and established his residence in 
Wilkinson county, and by his genial and upright deport 
ment so commended himself to the people of that county, 
that he was chosen one of the five delegates to represent 
them in the Constitutional Convention which assembled at 
Washington, in the county of Adams, in the year 1817. 

He represented the people of Wilkinson county several 
times in the Legislature and served two terms as Lieuten- 
ant-Governor, during the first and second terms of Gerard 
C Brandon as chief magistrate of the State. He was 
elected Governor in 1831, and was installed in office 
in January, 1832, with Fountain Winston, of Adams 
county, as Lieutenant-Governor. After the death of Gov- 
ernor Scott in November, 1833, the duties of the chief ex- 
ecutive were devolved on Lieutenant-Governor Winston 
for about six weeks. 



270 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

The administration of Governor Scott was rendered con- 
spicuous by the assembling of the Constitutional Con- 
vention of 1832, a Convention which changed the whole 
structure of the organic law of the State. 

This Constitutional Convention, in pursuance of an act 
of the Legislature approved December 16th, 1831, con- 
vened at the capitol in the city of Jackson, on Monday, 
the 10th day of September, 1832, The attendance was 
large on the day of assembling, every delegate being pres- 
ent and answering to his name. The counties having been 
called, the following gentlemen were found to be present: 

Adams county — John A. Quitman, Spence M. Grayson, 
Dr. Stephen Duncan. 

Claiborne county — Thomas Freeland, Thomas Gale and 
Daniel Greenleaf. 

Copiah county — Seth Granberry, William P. Rose. 

Covington county — Frederick Pope. 

Franklin county — Daniel McMillan. 

Greene county — David McRea. 

Hinds county — David Dickson, James Scott and Vernon 
C. Hicks. 

Hancock county — P. Rutilius R. Pray. 

Jefferson coun;y — Putnam T. Williams and Cicero Jef- 
ferson. 

Jackson county — William C. Leamon. 

Jones county — Nathaniel Jones. 

Lawrence county — Aloysius M. Keegan and Joseph W. 
Pendleton. 

Lowndes county — James P. Trotter. 

Marion county— Dugal McLaughlin. 

Madison county — R. McCord Williamson. 

Monroe county — George Higgason. 

Perry county — Jacob J. H. Morris. 

Pike county — James Y. McNabb, Lamon Bacot. 

Rankin county — Nathan G. Howard. 

Simpson county — John E. Lowe. 

Warren county — William J. Redd. 

Washington county — Andrew Knox. 

Wayne county — Thomas P. Falconer. 

Wilkinson county — Gerard C. Brandon, Edward T. Par- 
ish and Joseph Johnson. 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 271 

Yazoo county — Howell W. Runnels and Richard F. 
Floyd. 

From the district composed of the counties of Madison 
and Yazoo — William J. Austin. 

The counties of Monroe, Lowndes and Rankin — Daniel 
W. Wright. 

The counties of Warren and Washington — Eugene Ma- 
gee. 

The counties of Copiah and Jefferson — Benjamin Ken- 
nedy. 

The counties of Amite and Franklin — Richard A. Stew- 
art. 

The counties of Lawrence, Simpson and Covington- 
Charles Lynch. 

The counties of Perry, [Grreene, Hancock, Jackson and 
Wayne — John Black. 

The counties of Pike and Marion — James Jones. 

The Convention was organized by the election of P. Ru- 
tilius R. Pray as President, and on being escorted to the 
chair, that gentleman returned his acknowledgments for 
the high honor conferred in a few, but neat and graceful 
words. 

John A. Mallory was elected Secretary of the Conven- 
tion, and Joseph G. Anderson was made Sergeant at- 
Arms. 

The Constitution of 1817 having been in operation for 
lifteen years, the people had grown restless under its nu- 
merous restrictive provisions, and particularly with the 
property qualification for eligibility to office. 

At an early period of the Convention a resolution was 
introduced looking to a radical change in the "bill of 
rights." 

The same resolution announced the doctrine of "rota- 
tion in office," and condemned appointments to office for 
life or good behavior, and contended that the tenure should 
be limited, and that the people should, through the bal- 
lot-box, select their own agents. 

At that early day, nearly sixty years ago, monopolies 
were denounced as antagonistic to the theory of a republi- 
can government, and so it is held to-day by the great Dem- 



272 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

ocratic party of the Union, thus demonstrating the wis- 
dom, foresight and patriotism of the men who were more 
than half a century since engaged in the framing of an 
organic law, not only for themselves, but for their children 
yet unborn. 

John A. Quitman, of Adams county, then becoming quite 
prominent in politics, and earnestly devoted to the State of 
his adoption, the day before the Constitution was adopted, 
offered an amendment in the shape of a resolution, submit- 
ing that instrument to the vote of the people for their ratifi" 
cation or rejection. This proposition was lost by nays 
twenty-six to nineteen yeas. 

The Convention having completed its labors, adjourned 
on the 26th day of October, having been in session one 
month and sixteen days. 

The material change, the distinguishing feature which 
characterized the Constitution of 1832, from that previously 
in force, was the enlargement of the liberty and the power 
of the people, through the ballot-box, by conferring au- 
thority on them to elect their own public servants without 
regard to a property qualification. 

The most radical change, however, was that made in the 
judicial department of the government. Under the Con- 
stitution of 1817, the judges of all the courts were elected 
by the joint vote of the two houses of the Legislature, 
and their tenure of office was during good behavior. 

Under the Constitution of 1832, all judicial functionaries, 
as well as all State officers, were elected directly by the 
people. 

A Superior Court of Chancery was authorized to be estab- 
lished, and the Chancellor was made elective by the suf- 
fragans of the entire State. 

A High Court ol Errors and Appeals was provided for, 
composed of three judges. The Legislature was directed to 
divide the State into three judicial districts for that court, 
and the voters of each district were allowed to elect one 
judge for the High Court of Errors and Appeals. 

Circuit and Probate Courts were provided for, and the 
judges of these courts, too, were made elective by the peo- 
ple. The Attorney-General and all District Attorneys 
were made elective by the people. 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 273 

The Constitution of 1832 made the commonwealth of 
Mississippi the pioneer State in embodying in her organic 
law the right of the people to select, through the ballot- 
box, their judicial officers from those who presided over 
inferior tribunals to the court of last resort. This change 
in the judiciary of Mississippi was made nearly fifty-nine 
years ago, and at that time, neither the Constitution nor 
the laws of any State in the Union provided for a judi- 
ciary elective by the people. It is also true that in the 
interim between the period from 1832 to 1861, every State 
in the Union followed the example of Mississippi, and 
adopted the system of electing judges through the ballot- 
box by the qualified electors. If time has demonstrated 
the wisdom and virtue of the system, the honor of inau- 
gurating it is undeniably due to this commonwealth. 

The tenure of ofiice prescribed by the Constitution of 
1832, for the Governor, was two years, prohibiting the same 
individual from holding the office more than four in any 
six consecutive years. 

The powers conferred, and the duties imposed on the 
Executive, were copied in the main, almost word for word, 
from the Constitution of 1817, the material difference be- 
ing, that the latter provided for and prescribed the duties 
of Lieutenant-Governor, while those duties, under the Con- 
stitution of 1832 were to be performed by the President of 
the Senate, when necessary, by reason of the death, resig- 
nation or removal from office of the Governor. 

While the Constitutional Convention of 1832 was in 
session, the entire country was convulsed with excitement. 
The great war between the administration of President 
Jackson and the Bank of the United States, presided over 
by that able and accomplished gentleman, the Hon. Nich- 
olas Biddle, was raging with the utmost violence. There 
was no clash of arms, no rattle of musketry, and no thun- 
der of artillery heard in this great and momentous war, 
but the clamor of argument, of denunciation, and of vitu- 
peration, resounded through all the land. 

President Jackson vetoed the act re-chartering the Bank 
of the United States on July 10th, 1832. The President 
was then a candidate for re-election. The Whig party had 
18 



274 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

espoused the cause of the bank and nominated its ablest 
leader, the "great commoner," Henry Clay, of Kentucky, 
as its candidate for the presidency. The war waxed tierce 
and furious, but President Jackson was triumphantly re- 
elected. In his message, sent to Congress in December, 
1832, the President announced that the public deposits, 
that is, the government money heretofore deposited in the 
Bank of the United States, were unsafe and ought to be 
removed. That portion of his message was referred to a 
committee, which after some time made a report that the 
public monies on deposit in the Bank of the United States 
were entirely safe. A minority report followed, showing 
that the public deposits were unsafe and ought to be 
removed. William J. Duane, Esq., of Pennsylvania, was 
then Secretary of the Treasury, and he was averse to 
issuing an order for the removal of the public deposits. 
As Congress was in session it was deemed unadvisable to 
make the issue with the legislative department of the gov- 
ernment. In the spring of 1833, Mr. Duane having refused 
obedience to the President's wishes, was politely informed 
that the resignation of his commission as Secretary of the 
Treasury would be accepted. That gentleman, however, 
was not only opposed to the policy of the President, but 
believed that it would be improper and cowardly to tender 
his resignation, and thus allow another to perform an act 
which he believed to be wrong. President Jackson was, 
however, equal to the emergency. Believing that he was 
right in his view of the duty he owed the country, 
promptly removed Mr. Duane, and appointed Hon. Roger 
B. Taney, of Maryland, then Attorney-General of the 
United States, to the position of Secretary of the Treasury. 
Secretary Taney being in full accord with the President, 
had no hesitation in issuing an order for the removal of 
the public deposits from the custody of the United States 
Bank, and they were accordingly removed, and were soon 
after placed in various State banks. 

It is amusing now to look back upon that fierce war of 
words, in relation to " the monster," as President Jackson 
was wont to designate the Bank of the United States. The 
capital of that institution amounted to the paltry sum of 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 275 

($35,000,000) thirty-five millions of dollars, not one fourth 
as large as several private individual fortunes of the pres- 
ent day. One of the many arguments used by President 
Jackson, v^^as that a good portion of the capital stock of 
the bank was owned in Europe by foreigners, and in case 
of war with any foreign power the bank might be used to 
the detriment of the United States. A more fallacious 
argument than this it would be difficult to imagine, since 
the possession of the money of other people is usually 
regarded as one of the most powerful and strong incentives 
to do what the holder of their funds requires. And the 
idea of holding up a bank with a capital of $35,000,000 as 
" dangerous to the liberties of the people," must excite a 
smile from those who know that there are in existence to- 
day more than three thousand national banks, with a cap- 
ital of more^ than ($600,000,000) six hundred millions of 
dollars. That those three thousand national banks are 
usually banded together, are absolutely under the control 
of the Treasury Department of the United States, through 
the Comptroller of the Currency, form a much greater 
menace to " the liberties of the people," than the Bank 
of the United States could ever have been. There are 
many citizens of the country who see that this great 
money power may become " dangerous to the liberties 
of the people," but not from any foreign or outside influ- 
ence. The danger they fear is from a strong centralized 
government, with' a vulgar plutocratic power behind it. 
This is the great danger that to-day menaces constitu- 
tional government in the United States. The more than 
three thousand national banks, allied with the owners of 
more than one hundred and sixty thousand miles of rail- 
road, together with the numerous monopolies scattered 
through the country, including the Telegraph Company, 
the Standard Oil Company, and various other companies, 
" trusts " and syndicates, may well fill the hearts of the 
people with fearful forebodings. 

The removal of the government funds from the vaults of 
the Bank of the United States, and giving the custody of 
those funds to sundry State banks, was followed by a wild 
scene of banking, of inflation of the currency, and reckless 



276 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

speculation In no State in the Union were the results 
more disastrous than in the commonwealth of Mississippi. 

The administration of Governor Scott was in all essen- 
tials a successful one, but, unfortunately, this popular 
chief magistrate did not live to complete the term of two 
years for which he had been elected. 

He died in November, 1833, of Asiatic cholera, at the cap- 
ital of the State, and his premature death was widely 
lamented by the people he had so faithfully served. His 
memory has been perpetuated by bestowing his name on 
one of the prosperous counties east of Pearl river. 

Governor Scott left two sons and one daughter. One of 
his sons, William A. Scott, was appointed United States 
Marshal for the District of Louisiana by President Tay- 
lor. His other son, Thomas B. Scott, became a brigadier- 
general in the Confederate army. They have both been 
dead for a number of years. His daughter married Pres- 
ton W. Farrar, a lawyer of Woodville, Wilkinson county. 
Mr. Farrar was a native of Lexington, Kentucky, and re- 
moving to New Orleans sometime in the forties, he was 
elected to the Louisiana House of Representatives and 
became Speaker of that body. 



THE ADMINISTRATION OF GOVERNOR RUNNELS. 

Hiram G. Kunnels, a native of North Carolina, was 
the seventh Governor of Mississippi and the first chosen 
under the Constitution formulated at the capital in the 
year 1832. 

Mr. Runnels was the son of Col. Harmon Runnels, who 
migrated from the good Old North State in the early years 
of the Mississippi Territory, and soon became a conspicuous 
figure in all Territorial affairs, andlrepresented Lawrence 
county as a delegate in the Constitutional Convention which 
assembled at Washington, in Adams county, in the year 
1817. Having aided in framing the first Constitution, Col. 
Runnels was a frequent member of the Legislature and 
contributed largely in putting the new governmental ma - 
chinery into good working order. Col. Runnels was a man 



HISTOKY OF MISSISSIPPI. 277 

of vigorous mind, undoubted patriotism, and an abundance 
of both moral and physical courage. He was an active 
and public-spirited gentleman, lived to be'an octogenarian, 
commanding universal respect for his rugged virtues, and 
died, as Col. Claiborne informs his readers, ''in the odor of 
sanctity," and was mourned by all who knew him. 

Young Hiram was brought to the Mississippi Territory 
in company with several brothers when a mere boy, and 
grew to the full stature of a Mississippian in heart, in 
brain, brawn and courage. He received his only education 
in the common, "old field schools" of the times, and in 
those early days they were common enough in all con- 
science. 

Though possessing but little book learning, young Run- 
nels was the owner of a vigorous mind, and by dint of in- 
domitable energy and perseverance, aided by unques 
tioned integrity and courage, he made his way in the world, 
achieved a comfortable competency, and became a promi- 
nent leader in the politics of his county, served as the rep- 
resentative of his people in the Legislature — was elected 
State Treasurer by the Legislature in 1824 — and finally be- 
came the standard bearer of his party for Governor. He 
was elected in the autumn of 1833, as the successor of the 
late chief magistrate, AbramM. Scott, who died before the 
expiration of his term of office. 

The term of Governor Runnels as chief executive of the 
State covered the years 1834 and 1835. Governor Runnels, 
after retiring from the executive office,, was several times 
a member of the Legislature, and upon the establishment 
of the Union Bank was made the first and only president 
of that ill-fated institution, a concern foredoomed to an 
ignoble and inglorious failure. Governor Runnels removed 
to Texas many years ago, and before he passed over the 
dark river, he had the pleasure of seeing a nephew of his 
own name and his own blood chosen by the voice of the 
people to preside over the destinies of that great and grow- 
ing State. 

The grass has been growing upon the grave of Hiram G. 
Runnels for a number of years, and it is praise enough to 
say of him, that he was a man of honor and of courage ; 



278 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

that he was true to his friends in every possible emer- 
gency, and that he never deserted a friend or avoided a foe. 



THE ADMINISTRATION OF GOVERNOR LYNCH. 

Charles Lynch, of Lawrence county, was, it is believed, 
a native of South Carolina, from which State he migrated 
to Mississippi at an early day in its history. He was the 
eighth Governor elected by the people, and the second 
chosen under the Constitution of 1882. 

Mr. Lynch was a plain and unpretentious gentleman, 
with a vigorous understanding, and a good stock of com- 
mon sense and sound judgment. He was a man of un- 
doubted patriotism, of unquestioned courage, and of the 
highest integrity. He was bred to the business of a mer- 
chant, and for a number of years he was a successful mer- 
chant in the ancient town of Monticello, the seat of justice 
for Lawrence county. It is worthy of remark that at a 
time when all offices of honor or profit were eagerly sought 
after by professional men, who were first, last and all the 
time politicians and office seekers, that two plain men like 
Hiram G. Runnels and Charles Lynch should have been 
successively chosen for Governor by the people. 

The administration of Governor Lynch was not con- 
spicuously marked by anything peculiarly interesting or 
strange. 

Governor Lynch retired at the expiration of his term, 
carrying with him to his quiet home at Monticello, the re- 
spect, the confidence and good will of the entire people ot 
the commonwealth, whom he had served to the best of his 
ability, and with all earnestnes3 and fidelity. 

Governor Charles Lynch died February 9th, 1853, and his 
remains rest peacefully in the Jackson cemetery. 



CHAPTER XIII. 



THE ADMINISTRATION OF GOVERNOR McNUTT. 

Alexander G. McNutt, a native of Rockbridge county, 
Virginia, was the ninth Governor of Mississippi, and the 
third chosen by the people under the Constitution of 1832. 

Young McNutt was born January 3, 1802, and was the 
son of a reputable gentleman named Alexander McNutt. 
He was educated at what was then called Washington Col- 
lege, now known as the Washington-Lee University, and 
was graduated from that institution with high honor. 
After completing his collegiate course Mr. McNutt studied 
law, was admitted to the bar of his native State, and 
almost immediately determined to remove to Mississippi. 
He arrived at Vicksburg between the years 1823 and 1825, 
and immediately opened an office there for the practice of 
his profession. As the county seat was then at Warren- 
ton, about ten miles below that point on the river, he was 
among the first, if not the very flrst, to open a lawyer's 
office in what is now recognized as the chief commercial 
emporium of the State. 

Alexander G. McNutt was one of the most remarkable 
men known to Mississippi. Endowed with a splendid in- 
tellect, with a tall, erect and handsome person, a ruddy 
complexion, brown hair and liquid blue eyes, he was a 
man of mark in any assemblage in which he might chance 
to be thrown. With a classical education, large reading, 
fine conversational powers, and a brilliant writer, it is not 
at all wonderful that he soon became popular. He suc- 
ceeded in acquiring a large and lucrative practice, and also 
became interested in planting. 

In 1835, the Democrats of Warren county nominated him 
as their candidate for State Senator, Warren being at that 



280 HISTOEY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

time a strong Whig county. The Whigs nominated 
Engine Magee, an Irish gentleman of education, winning 
manners, and great personal popularity, who had already 
served the people with great acceptability as a delegate in 
the Constitutional Convention of 1882, from the counties 
of Warren and Washington. Like McNutt, Magee was a 
lawyer by profession, and one of the brighest, most genial 
and witty members of the bar. After an animated contest, 
despite the fact that Warren was a strong Whig county, 
the contest resulted in the election of McNutt, by a decisive 
majority. He took his seat in the State Senate in Jan- 
uary, 1836, and so impressed his ability and personality 
upon his political associates, that in little more than a 
year after he entered the Senate he was selected as the 
standard bearer of his party, and became the nominee of 
the IDemocracy for the position of Governor of the State. 
As the Democratic party had a large majority in the State 
the election of McNutt was a foregone conclusion, and two 
years later, in 1837, he was re-nominated for a second 
term and was re-elected by a decided majority. 

When Alexander G. McNutt entered the Senate as a Sen- 
ator from Warren county the spirit of inflation and spec- 
ulation was rife all over the State, and during his first 
term as chief magistrate the mad craze continued to grow 
until it assumed the proportions of a wild cyclone 

In less than six years from the adjournment of the Con- 
stitutional Convention of 1832, a host of railroad and 
banking companies were chartered, with an aggregate cap- 
ital much larger than the capital of the famous ''monster," 
the Bank of the United States. The capital of the banks 
of the State, incorporated by the Legislature, in less than 
six years after the formation of the Constitution in 1832, 
aggregated the enormous amount of ($53,750,000) fifty- 
three million seven hundred and fiity thousand dollars. 
To most of the railroads incorporated by the Legislature 
were given the privilege of banking. They were author- 
ized to issue their own notes for circulation, to make loans, 
and to deal in exchange, bonds and bills of credit. To 
some of the numerous banks, in addition to the usual 
banking privileges, were given the authority to buy and 
sell real and personal property at discretion. 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 281 

If the railroads incorporated by the Legislature in a 
period of six years had all been constructed, the ehtire 
State would have been thoroughly grid-ironed with rail- 
roads, and the '"iron horse," within a few brief years, 
would have been careering madly through every quarter 
of the commonwealth. But, alas ! one road only was 
completed, that from Vicksburg to Jackson, then, as now, 
the capital of the State, and that line of road was less 
thaa fifty miles in length. 

The era of numberless mushroom banks, of inflated cur- 
rency, of frantic and reckless speculation already referred 
to, produced an abundant harvest of distress, bankruptcy 
and ruin for the people of Mississippi. Yet thej still 
clamored for more banks, and yet a greater issue of worth- 
less "paper promises to pay." In obedience to this public 
demand for more money, the Legislature, early in the ses- 
sion of 1837, passed an act to incorporate the Union Bank 
of Mississippi with a capital of ($15,500,000) fifteen mil- 
lion five hundred thousand dollars, which was approved by 
Governor Lynch. January 21, 1837, "so far as the action of 
this Legislature is recognized." 

Section 4th of the original act of incorporation provided, 
"that the owners of real estate, situated in the State of 
Mississippi, and who are citizens thereof, shall be the only 
persons entitled to subscribe ; and shares so subscribed 
shall be transferable only to such owners, until five years, 
when they may be transferred to any owner of real estate 
in this State, whether citizen or not ; promded, hoioever^ to 
secure the capital or interest of said bank, mortgage shall 
be given on property of a sufficient character, and of an 
imperishable nature." 

Section 5th declared "that in order to facilitate the said 
Union Bank, for the said loan of fifteen million five hun- 
dred thousand dollars, the faith of this State be, and is 
hereby pledged, both for the security of the capital and 
interest, and that seven thousand five hundred bonds of 
two thousand dollars each, to wit : Eighteen hundred and 
seventy-five, payable in twelve years ; eighteen hundred 
and seventy -five, in fifteen years ; eighteen hundred and 
seventy -five, in eighteen years ; and eighteen hundred and 



282 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

seventy -five, in twenty years, and bearing interest at the 
rate of five per cent, per annum, shall be signed by the 
Governor of the State, to the order of the Mississippi 
Union Bank, countersigned by the State Treasurer, and 
under the seal of the State." The form of the bonds was 
prescribed in this section. 

Section 6th declared "that the said bonds may be trans- 
ferable by the endorsement of the president and of the 
cashier of said bank, to the order of any person whomso- 
ever, or to the bearer ; and the said endorsement shall fix 
the place the said principal and interest shall be paid ; and 
all expenses incurred thereon shall be defrayed from the 
funds of the bank." 

Section 7th provided " that both the capital and interest 
of said bonds shall he paid by said hank at the times they 
shall severally fall due.''"' 

Section 8th enacted, " that to secure the payment of the 
capital and interest of said bonds, the subscribers shall be 
bound to give mortgage, to the satisfaction of the direct- 
ors, on property to be in all cases equal to the amount of 
their respective stock, which mortgage may bear on culti- 
vated lands, plantations and slaves; on town lots with 
houses thereon; on other buildings yielding a rent, or 
lands not under cultivation, but susceptible of being culti- 
vated; and on vacant lots capable of being improved, with 
this provision, that not more than one-fifth of the stock of 
each stockholder may be secured by mortgage on unim- 
proved lands, not included in any plantation, and on vacant 
lots in town; no mortgage on slaves alone shall be re- 
ceived ; and that when a mortgage shall be offered on lands 
and slaves, the value of the lands shall be equal to three- 
fourths of the stock for which the mortgage shall be 
given ; that houses or other buildings, situated in any city 
or town, shall always be insured against the risk of fire, 
and the policy of the insurance transferred to said Union 
Bank, but it shall not be required to have the buildings on 
any plantations insured ; no mortgage shall be received on 
a brick building for more than one-half of its value, and 
on a wooden building for more than one-fourth ; and that 
no one shall be permitted to subscribe until he shaU 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 283 

deliver to the commissioners a valid act of sale, or patents, 
or certificates of confirmation from the Land Commission- 
ers of the United States, or partition sales and adjudications 
by a decree of a court, verified according to law, or such 
other evidences of title to the property proposed as a guar- 
antee to the bank, as may be deemed satisfactory to said 
commissioners or directors ; that property already mort- 
gaged may be received as a guarantee : provided, that 
the directors shall first deduct from the whole value of the 
property at least twice the amount of said mortgages, and 
then grant such only on the excess remaining after such 
deduction ; provided further, that the mortgage existing 
on said property shall not prevent the board of directors 
from receiving them as security for stock, when the sum 
to be loaned is to be employed in the extinguishment of 
said mortgage." 

Section 10th provided, " that for the management of the 
affairs of said bank, there shall be thirteen directors, 
chosen from among the stockholders, five of whom shall 
be elected and chosen by the Legislature, by joint vote of 
both houses biennially ; and, upon the part of the stock- 
holders, eight shall be annually chosen, at the banking- 
house of the said bank, by the qualified stockholders of 
the capital of said bank." 

Section 13th enacted "that the Legislature shall, upon 
joint vote, appoint three commissioners in each of the dis- 
tricts of the State hereinafter designated, whose duty it 
shall be to ascertain and appraise the property of those 
who wish to become stockholders in the institution, as 
well as those who are desirous to obtain loans on mort- 
gage ; and the said commissioners shall deliver to all per- 
sons whose property they appraise, detailed and authen- 
tic certificates of its value, of the number of acres of which 
each is composed, how many acres are under cultivation, 
and how many are capable of being cultivaj;ed, and how 
many are not, the nature of the culture, the number of 
slaves, and their condition, age and sex, and the number 
of animals employed; the number and quality of the 
buildings, and an estimate of each and all, which certifi- 
cate must be signed and sworn to before a judge or magis- 



284 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

trate, or some one authorized to administer oaths, by said 
commissioners, or a majority of them." 

Section 31 provided that " every stockholder should be 
entitled to a credit (meaning thereby a loan) equal to one- 
half of the total amount of their respective shares, "of 
which said loans, four per cent and interest shall be paid 
annually," and " the notes of stockholders renewed 
annually, until the whole loan shall be paid and extin- 
guished." 

Section 32 provided for the establishment of certain 
branches, and directed that two- thirds of the capital 
assigned to each branch should be loaned on notes, the 
payment of which should be secured by a mortgage on 
property. 

Section 36 directed " that persons borrowing on mort- 
gage shall be allowed, at the end of twelve months, to 
renew their bonds or notes for twelve months longer, dur- 
ing the space of eight years from the date of their respect- 
ive loans ; " provided such borrowers shall pay at the time 
of each renewal all interest due on their said loans. 

Section 47 provided that the fifth section of the act pledg- 
ing the faith of the State for the payment of the annually ac- 
cruing interest, and the payment of the bonds themselves 
when they became due, should be submitted to the people in 
accordance with the provisions of the constitution ; the pay- 
ment or redemption of any loan or debt, unless such law 
be proposed in the Senate or House of Representatives, 
and be agreed to by a majority of the members of each 
House, and entered on their journals with the yeas and 
nays taken thereon, and be referred to the next succeeding 
Legislature, and published for three months previous to 
the next regular election, in three newspapers of this State ; 
and unless a majority of each branch of the Legislature so 
elected, after such publication, shall agree to and pass 
such law; and in such case the yeas and nays shall be 
taken, and entered on the journals of each House; pro- 
vided that nothing in this section shall be so construed as 
to prevent the Legislature from negotiating a further loan 
of one and a half millions of dollars, and vesting the same 
in stock reserved to the State by the charter of the Plant- 
ers' Bank of the State of Mississippi." 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 285 

In pursuance of the foregoing section, the act incor- 
porating the Union Bank o,f Mississippi had been " pub- 
lished for three months previous to the next regular 
election," and when the Legislature assembled at the cap- 
ital in January, 1838, that body promptly proceeded to 
re-pass it in conformity with the provisions of the Constitu- 
tion. The original act, re-enacted, was approved by Grov- 
ernor McNutt, on the 5th day of February, 1838, but the 
legislators of that day were not content with this. The 
charter of the Union Bank, as originally enacted, author- 
ized the issuance of the bonds of the State for fifteen mil- 
lion five hundred thousand dollars, and their delivery to 
the bank as a loan- 

The bank was required to " secure " the payment of 
these bonds, and the prompt payment of the accruing 
interest, by mortgage upon the property of the stock- 
holders of the bank. But this did not satisfy the legis- 
lators of fifty-three years ago. They introduced and passed 
" an act supplementary to an act to incorporate the sub- 
scribers to the Mississipi Union Bank," the first section of 
which was in the following words: 

"Section 1st. Be it enacted hy the Legislature of the State 
of Mississippi, That as soon as the books of subscription for 
stock in the said Mississippi Union Bank are opened, the 
Governor of this State is hereby authorized and required 
to subscribe for, in behalf of the State, fifty thousand shares 
of the original stock of the capital of the said bank ; the 
same to he paid for out of the proceeds of the State 
bonds, to be executed to the said hank as already provided 
for in the said charter ; and that the dividends and profits 
which may accrue and be declared by the bank on the 
said stock subscribed for in behalf of the State, shall be 
held by the said bank subject to the control of the State 
Legislature for the purposes of internal improvement and 
the promotion of education.'''' 

Section 9th enacted, "That the president and directors 
of the said Mississippi Union Bank, or the managers 
thereof, shall have ample power to appoint three commis- 
sioners to negotiate and sell the State bonds provided for 
in the fifth section of the act incorporating the subscri- 



283 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

bers to the Mississippi Union Bank, in any market within 
the United States, or in any foreign market, under such 
rules and regulations as may be adopted by said presi- 
dent and directors or managers, not inconsistent with the 
provisions of the charter of said bank ; provided, said 
bonds shall not he sold under their par valued 

This supplemental act was approved by Governor Mc- 
Nutt on the 15th day of February, 1839. only ten days later 
than the date of his approval of the original charter of 
the Union Bank, after its passage by two successive Leg- 
islatures, in obedience to the requirements of the consti- 
tution. 

During the spring and summer of that year, bonds of 
the State to the amount of live millions of dollars were. 
prepared, signed by the Governor, countersigned by the 
Treasurer of the State, and delivered to the president and 
directors of the Union Bank. The bank appointed Col. 
James C. Wilkins, of Natchez, William M. Pinckard, of 
Vicksburg, and Edward C. Wilkinson, of Yazoo City, as 
commissioners to negotiate the bonds. These gentlemen 
were all men of the highest character for honor and integ- 
rity. The two first were prominent and leading merchants 
in their respective cities, and the third, Edward C. Wil- 
kinson, was regarded as a very able lawyer and a gentle- 
man of the highest integrity and purity of character. 

Such were the characters of the gentlemen to whom were 
confided the honorable, responsible and delicate duty of 
negotiating the bonds of Mississippi for five millions of 
dollars. These gentlemen accepted the important trust and 
proceeded to the northern cities in the performance of their 
mission. 

On the 18th day of August, in the year 1838, the com- 
missioners succeeded in disposing of the entire five million 
dollars worth of bonds to the Hon. Nicholas Biddle, then 
the president of the United States Bank of Pennsylvania. 
As soon as the intelligence of the sale of the bonds 
reached Mississippi, the unthinking multitudes were 
wild with a delirium of joy. Bonfires and illuminations 
were the order of the day, or rather of the night, while 
great guns, the rattle of drums, the blare of trumpets and 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 287 

the shouts of the frantic multitude made night absolutely 
hideous. 

To the thinking, cool, clear-headed people, and there 
were many such at that day, the Union Bank was fore- 
doomed to a disastrous and ignominious failure. The 
entire banking system of that period was radically de- 
fective, but the theory upon which the Union Bank was 
founded, that of "relieving" people who were hopelessly 
insolvent, was a grotesque absurdity. The system of loans 
on mortgages of real and personal property, prescribed in 
the act of incorporation, for twelve months, renewable for 
eight years upon the payment of the interest and one- 
eigMh of the principal, at the end of each twelve months, 
would have wrecked the Bank of England, The payment 
of the bonds as they fell due, and the interest thereon, 
which the bank was required to pay from the funds in its 
vaults, was a sheer impossibility. By the terms of the 
charter, the fifteen and a half millions of bonds, to be de- 
livered to the bank, were made payable in four install- 
ments. The first installment was made payable in twelve, 
the second in fifteen, the third in eighteen, and the fourth 
in twenty years. In other words, the legislators of that 
period were insane enough to pledge the faith of the State 
for the payment of the enormous amount of fifteen and a 
half million of dollars in the brief space of twenty years, 
together with the annually accruing interest, which 
amounted yearly to more than three-quarters of a million 
of dollars. And all this was to be the result of the profits of 
the Union Bank in the course of two decades. Nothing can 
better expose the blind fatuity of the legislators of that 
day, or the mad, reckless temerity of the so-called finan- 
ciers of the times. 

Meantime, Governor McNutt had inaugurated a relent- 
less war against the Union Bank, as well as against all 
the other banks in the State. Two years previously he 
had approved a law providing for the election by the Leg- 
islature of three bank commissioners, whose duty it 
should be to examine, once in each year, and oftener if 
found necessary, the several banks in the State, and ascer- 
tain their capacity to meet their obligations to their note- 



288 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

holders and depositors. These bank commissioners had 
been elected by the Legislature and had entered, upon the 
discharge of their duties. This law, however, was not pro- 
ductive of any essential benefit to the public, as the man- 
agers of a large number of banks absolutely refused to 
permit the commissioners to investigate the condition of 
their business affairs. This refusal was based on a 
variety of grounds, the chief of which was that the com- 
missioners were so prejudiced against all banks that 
nothing like an impartial report could be expected from 
them. 

In his annual message, dated January 7th, 1840, re- 
ferring to the management of the Union Bank, Governor 
McNutt said : 

"lam induced to believe that a large portion of the 
property accepted as security for that stock is incumbered 
by judgments, mortgages and deeds of trust ; that the 
valuations of the appraisers were generally very extrava- 
agant ; that, in many instances, the titles to the property 
offered are yet imperfect, and that the whole management 
of the aflfairs of the bank has been disastrous to its credit, 
destructive to the interests of the State, and ruinous to the 
institution. The cotton advanced upon by the bank, in 
some instances, has been attached, and the suits decided 
against the institution. Many of the cotton agents and 
consignees are defaulters, and great loss on the cotton ac- 
count is inevitable. The post notes, issued in violation of 
law, have greatly depreciated, and if the decisions of sev- 
eral of our circuit judges are affirmed by the High Court 
of Errors and Appeals, actions can not be maintained on 
a large portion of the bills receivable of the bank." 
Continuing, the Governor adds : "I signed and delivered 
to the managers last summer (summer of 1839) bonds to 
the amount of five millions of dollars. The president of 
the bank was dispatched eastward to make a sale, but was 
unable to effect it. * * * * On the 18th of November, 
1839, I received a letter from the cashier of the bank, 
together with two resolutions of the directors, one of 
which informed me that the remaining five million and a 
half of bonds were ready for my signature. Believing 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 289 

that there was no immediate prospect of a sale of the 
bonds, and that further legislation might be required, I 
determined not to execute the remaining bonds," etc. 

The Governor continues in the same strain : "The faith 
of the State is pledged for the whole capital stock, and the 
property of all her citizens may hereafter be taxed to make 
up its losses and defalcations. The right of the people, 
therefore, to know the conduct of all its agents and the 
liability of everyone of its debtors, cannot be questioned.'* 

In the same message the Governor estimates the liabili- 
ties of the Union Bank, then due, at $249,696. The amount 
due and payable during the months of April and May, 
1840, at $3,999,922, and the amount due in January, 1841, 
at $48,261, making a total aggregate of $4,290,880. 

"To pay the residue," continues the Governor in his mes- 
sage, "the bank has five millions of dollars of State bonds, 
and exchange, bills receivable, etc., to make the amount of 
nine millions of dollars. The State bonds cannot be sold, 
and a sufficient sum cannot be realized in time, out of the 
other assets of the bank to pay the post notes due next 
April and May. It will take more than $250,000 of the 
available funds of the bank to pay in London the inter- 
est on the State bonds previous to the first of September 
next." 

The Governor then proceeds by saying, "it is our duty 
to place the institution either in liquidation, or to repeal 
all that portion of the charter giving to private individuals 
stock in the bank and privileged loans. The State debt 
already amounts to about seven and a half millions of 
dollars. The interest on seven millions is payable abroad 
and amounts to three hundred and seventy thousand dol- 
lars annually. The rights of the stockholders are yet in- 
clioate, and until the residue of the bonds are sold, they 
can have no peculiar claims. Influenced by no motive 
save that of the public good, anxious to protect the rights 
of all, and to advance the interest of the State, I am bound 
to recommend that the five millions of the State bonds last 
issued shall be called in and cancelled, and that no more 
shall be hereafter issued for the Mis8issij)pi Union Bank." 

In this message the Governor recommended an immediate 
19 



290 . HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

repeal of the charters of all the banks that were unable to 
meet promptly their obligations to their note holders and 
depositors. In support of this proposition he urged : "the 
existing banks cannot be bol&tered. Destitute as they are 
of credit and available means, it would be folly in us to 
attempt to infuse vigor and stability into their lifeless 
forms. They are powerless to do good, but capable of 
inflicting injuries irreparable." 

In this message the Governor gives the liabilities of the 
various banks of the State at the enormous hgure of 
$62,840,365, while the amount of assets reached the sum of 
$67,810,805. While this was a nominal excess of assets 
over liabilities of nearly five millions of dollars, a glance 
at these assumed assets was sufficient to show how utterly 
unreliable, how absolutely worthless was the value of their 
securities for the protection of the note holder and the 
depositor. The amount of the "suspended debt," and of 
the "suspended debt in suit," aggregated the enormous 
sum of nearly seventeen millions of dollars, while the 
banks held in their possession more than thirty-one mil- 
lions of dollars in the shape of "notes and bills discounted," 
and not more than twenty-five per cent, of this immense 
sum could by any process known to man ever be col- 
lected. In point of fact, not one-tenth of this vast sum 
ever was collected. 

. In concluding his message of January, 1840, the Gov- 
ernor said : "The liabilities of the directors of the banks, 
examined by the bank commissioners, are $4,052,852. The 
liabilities of the banks not examined by them, are at least 
double that sum." 

In his next annual message, bearing date January 5th, 
1841, Governor McNutt renewed his assaults upon the Mis- 
sissippi Union Bank with great vigor. In this message he 
assailed the validity of the sale of the bonds of the State 
issued to meet and pay for the subscription of stock owned 
by the State, in a most trenchant manner. He thus refers 
to the three great institutions in which the State was a 
stockholder : 

"The situation and affairs of the Mississippi Railroad 
Company, the Planter's Bank of the State and of the 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 291 

Mississippi Union Bank, will demand your calm considera- 
tion. All those institutions are insolvent, and neither of 
them can resume specie payment for several years or make 
further loans. I submit, herewith, copies of my letters to 
those banks, calling for specific information in relation to 
their condition, and the answers and statements furnished 
The Union Bank has $4,349 of specie on hand Her sus- 
pended debt in suit is $2,698,869 ; suspended debt, not sued 
on, $1777,337; resources, chielly unavailable, $8,033 154- 
im^nediate liabilities, $3,034,154; capital stock, $5.00o',OOo' 
The Governor declares "that the whole capital stock of 
the Union Bank has been lost," and proceeds to refer to 
tiie system of advancing on cotton by the Union Bank 
which, in common with the other banks, had been engaged 
in that business. The Governor says : " The Bank has 
seven thousand bales of cotton in Liverpool, on which it 
has drawn $267,116. An advance of sixty dollars per 
bale was made to the planters upon that cotton in 1838 
Ihe bank will sustain a clear loss, including interest of 
thirty dollars per bale, equal in the aggregate to $210,000 
Ihe bank has been irretrievably ruined by making ad- 
vances on cotton, issuing post notes, and loaning the prin- 
cipal portion of her capital to insolvent individuals^and 
companies. The situation of the Mississippi Railroad 
Company and the Planters Bank is equally bad." 

The Governor made a strong argument in favor of the re- 
pudiation of the Union Bank bonds, for the reason • First 
that they were sold on a credit, instead of for cash at their 
par value ; and second, that they .had been purchased in 
the name of an institution, the United States Bank of 
Pennsylvania, the charter of which absolutely prohibited 
that bank from buying or selling bonds or stocks other 
than issued by authority of the United States or of the 
fetate of Pennsylvania. 

The Legislature of that year, however, did not concur 
with the Executive, and both houses adopted, by decisive 
majorities, resolutions declaring that the honor of the State 
demanded that both the Union and Planters bank bonds 
should be paid, both principal and interest. The adoption 
of the resolution declaring in favor of paying the Planters 



292 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

Bank bonds was adopted in the Senate unanimously, every 
Senator being present, and in the House of Representa- 
tives it passed by a majority approaching unanimity. 

The vote in favor of paying the Union Bank bonds was 
passed by a two-thirds majority in the Senate, with every 
Senator voting, and the majority in the House on the same 
resolution was large. 

The agitation had commenced, however, and it is not 
the fashion of revolutions to make retrograde movements. 
The Democratic Convention assembled on the 8th day of 
Janury, 1841, to nominate candidates for Governor and 
other State officers. The convention made its nomina- 
tions, but was silent as the grave on the bond question. 

Some six weeks later the Whigs met in convention and 
took strong ground in favor of paying the State bonds, 
and nominated a full ticket in entire accord with the con- 
vention on the bond question. Judge David O. Shattuck 
was the nominee ot the Whig, and Thomas H. Williams 
of the Democratic party, for Governor. It was soon ascer- 
tained, however, that Mr. Williams was not entirely sound 
as a repudiator, and a few gentlemen got together at the 
old capitol building, and nominated Mr. Hanson Allsberry. 
He accepted the nomination and commenced the canvass, 
but being embarrassed financially, he abandoned the con- 
test, and removed to Texas. Tighlman M. Tucker, of 
Lowndes county, was next nominated, and after a long, 
bitter and exciting campaign, the repudiators were suc- 
cessful in electing their whole State ticket and a majority 
in both branches of the Legislature. It was a notable fact 
that the largest taxpayers were uniformly in favor of 
paying the bonds, and that the heaviest tax-paying coun- 
ties gave large majorities for meeting the obligations of 
the State, and for paying the Union Bank Bonds. Thous- 
ands of the best and most intelligent men in the State 
scorned to discuss the legality of the issue or the sale of 
the bonds, and based their advocacy of payment on the 
broad ground of comit}^, fair dealing, and expediency. 

There can be no question that the repudiation of the 
Union Bank bonds, followed eleven years later by the for- 
mal repudiation of the Planters Bank bonds by the votes 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 293 

of the people, has proved to have been a most expensive 
luxury to every citizen of Mississippi engaged in any 
kind of business. There is no doubt that as a mere ques- 
tion of policy and expediency, the repudiation of her 
bonds by the State was a most costly experiment. The in- 
creased cost of all monetary facilities to the people for 
twenty odd years was vastly in excess of the entire bonded 
indebtedness of the State. It is undeniably true that 
longer time, and a lower rate of interest, could readily 
have been obtained from the creditors of the State, and 
when it is remembered that not less than ten millions ot 
dollars were extorted from the people of Mississippi in 
the brief period of three years, in violation of the Consti- 
tion, as a government tax on cotton alone, it will readily 
be perceived with what ease the State could have paid the 
entire amount of her bonded indebtedness, more especial- 
ly when extended through the long term of fifty years, as 
could have been done with great facility. The repudia- 
tion of the bonds was an undeniable blunder, and a blun- 
der, according to Talleyrand, "is worse than a crime." 

The second term of Governor McNutt, which commenced 
in January, 1840, was made memorable by the visit of 
General Andrew Jackson to the capital of Mississippi. The 
ex-President had been induced to visit New Orleans, where 
it was said the corner-stone of a monument to commemorate 
the victory won by the army under his command on the 8th 
day of January, 1815, was to be laid. The Legislature of the 
State being in session at the time, the old hero was unani- 
mously invited to visit the capital of Mississippi and accept 
the hospitalities of the State. A joint committee of the 
two Houses was appointed to visit New Orleans, and to 
endeavor to secure the proposed visit from the venerated 
chief, who had so often led the sons of Mississippi to bat- 
tle and to victory. General Jackson promptly accepted 
the invitation, and the news flew fast that the hero of New 
Orleans was to be the guest of the State. Ample prepara- 
tions were made by a joint committee of the Legislature, 
aided by a large committee of the most prominent citizens 
of Jackson and Hinds county. The ex-President left New 
Orleans on board of a steamboat, accompanied by General 



294 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

Armstrong, who left Nashville with him, Major Andrew J. 
Donaldson and General Thomas Hinds, to whom General 
Jackson had, prior to his leaving the Hermitage, written 
an urgent letter begging Hinds to join him at Natchez, and 
accompany him to New Orleans. 

The people of Mississippi were aroused, and hastened to 
show all honor to their illustrious visitor. The people of 
Natchez, learning of the proposed visit of the ex-President 
to the capital of the State, had sent him an invitation to 
visit Natchez, and accept a public dinner on his voyage up 
the river, and this invitation had been accepted and the day 
appointed. When the steamer bearing the ex-President 
touched the landing, the entire population of the city 
seemed to be present, men, women and children, all anx- 
ious to render homage to the war-worn soldier. The com- 
mittee received the ex-President and placed him and his 
visiting friends in carriages, and accompanied him to the 
quarters provided for him at the Mercer House. The vol- 
unteer companies of the city furnished the military escort 
for the distinguished guest, and after his arrival at his 
quarters, the ex-President was welcomed in a very eloquent 
and appropriate speech by Colonel Adam L. Bingaman, a 
native of Adams county, a graduate of Harvard University, 
a soldier at the battle of New Orleans, and above all, a 
most eloquent and attractive speaker. The concluding 
words of the address of welcome to General Jackson were 
as follows, and must have touched the heart of the old 
chief deeply : 

" Fortunate, fortunate old man ! Providence, kind alike 
to you and to us, has permitted you to enjoy, while livings 
that fame and glory which usually crowns the memories 
of the gallant benefactors of their country after honor has 
consigned them to the tomb. From you, still far, far dis- 
tant be that mournful day. Your deeds are among the 
most brilliant achievements on our national escutcheon. 
Your fame is of the treasures of the country. And when I 
look around me on the surrounding assemblage, glowing 
with admiration and enthusiasm on this happy occasion, I 
feel that I can with truth assure you that among us, 

"The pedestal on which your greatness stands 
Is built of all our hearts and all our hands." 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 295 

" Welcome, then, thrice welcome, again and again wel- 
come, welcome to our shores." 

At the conclusion of this address, the ex-President was 
conducted by the committee to the reception room of the 
distinguished and venerable guest, where he received the 
respectful salutations and homage of hundreds of ladies 
and gentlemen who were eager to do him honor. At a 
later hour, 3 o'clock p. m., a very large number of citizens 
partook of an elegant dinner tendered to the guests of the 
occasion, at which the mayor of the city presided, and in 
the evening the ex-President attended a ball, at which the 
beauty and chivalry of the city were present, and at a late 
hour the venerable chief returned to his boat and resumed 
his voyage to Vicksburg, 

On arriving at the Vicksburg landing, the scene pre- 
sented at Natchez was repeated. The entire population of 
the town seemed co be present to welcome the old hero, and 
with the people came the civic authorities, with Mayor 
Miles C. Folkes at their head, who welcomed the illustrious 
visitor brietiy, but in words of warmest good will and hos- 
pitality. The two crack militar}^ companies, the " Volun- 
unteers" and the ''Southrons." who six years later made 
their mark at Monterey and Buena Vista, as a component 
portion of the famous First Mississippi regiment, were on 
hand, with gleaming bayonets, for escort duty. Having 
escorted the venerable chief to the elegant and commodious 
residence of the Hon. Wm. M. Gwin, where quarters for 
him had been prepared, a few hours later the house was 
thrown open for an elegant and elaborate reception in 
honor of the ex-President. To say that this reception was 
a brilliant success is not at all necessary to those who 
knew the genial and hospitable William M . Gwin or his 
accomplished wife. The beauty and fashion of the city 
was present in great force, and among the dashing cava- 
liers who were uttering soft nothings in the ears of their 
lovely partners, as they floated through the dance to the 
bewitching strains of entrancing music, were men who 
have since made their mark upon the times. The gray- 
haired grandmothers of the present day linger, with fond 
delight over the pleasures of that reception in honor of 
General Andrew Jackson, fifty-one years ago. 



296 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

The next move of the illustrious guest of the State, was 
to the capital, to which he was conducted by a large escort, 
both civil and military. On his arrival at Jackson he was 
met by an immense concourse of people from nearly every 
county in the State, and to an onlooker it seemed as if the 
entire population of Mississippi had been assembled to do 
honor to the hero of New Orleans, and to offer him the 
homage of their affectionate gratitude, bubbling fresh and 
warm from their hearts. No such outpouring of admira- 
tion and affection has been witnessed since that day. The 
throng of people filled every foot of available space from 
the railroad depot to the capitol, and the surging mass of 
humanity overflowed into the side streets. The ex-Presi- 
dent was greeted by an immense multitude of people 
whose shouts of welcome made the welkin ring. The cor- 
tege, headed by the grand marshal of the occasion, passed 
through a perfect sea of people, and made its way to 
the capitol, where the illustrious guest was received by 
Governor McNutt, after which he was conducted to the 
quarters provided for him at the Eagle Hotel. 

Every one, including both ladies and gentlemen, called to 
offer their respectful homage on the day of the general recep- 
tion of the distinguished guest, and he was offered many 
touching testimonials of the gratitude of an entire people. 

The Legislature in joint session received the honored 
guest. Governor McNutt and ex-Governor Runnels each 
entertained the ex-President, and a grand ball at the large 
theatre, which Jackson then boasted, was given in his 
honor. The ball was an immeasurable success, and the 
crowd in attendance was immense, but as the parquette of 
the theatre had been floored over, the space for dancing 
and promenading was ample, and no crush was apparent. 
Having been shown all honor by the people of Mississippi, 
General Jackson regretfully returned to Vicksburg to re- 
sume his journey homeward. The old hero was well 
aware that when he left the State he would never again 
behold it, and having led the sons of Mississippi to 
battle and to victory many times, it is not unnatural that his 
final parting with the State and its people should have 
been tinged with sadness and regret. 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. • 297 

An amusing and humorous incident connected with the 
visit ot General Jackson to the capital of Mississippi, is 
thus described by a looker on upon that memorable occa- 
sion. 

The tenacity of memory of faces and things imputed to 
distinguished rulers of men, was possessed by General 
Jackson in a remarkable degree. This was tested in the 
case of an obscure man of Rankin county. Gilbert Simp- 
son was known, by his neighbors as one who pretended to 
have seen much of the General in his Indian campaign. 

He professed to have been one of the General's body 
guard, and to have been constantly about his person, and 
to have heard much of his talk. Especially did Gilbert 
recount an interview or parley between Jackson and the 
Indian Chief, Weatherford, which by his description must 
have resembled the talk of two bullies with their backers 
at a general military muster. 

He related conversations between the General and him- 
self, "says the General to me, says he, Gilbert, etc., etc." 
It came about at last that these narratives became so mul- 
tiplied and extravagant that his neighbors discredited the 
whole, and they went so 'far as to say that Simpson had 
probably never seen General Jackson. 

When the intended visit of the General to Jackson 
became known, it was resolved that Simpson should pre- 
sent himself to the General. Accordingly two or three 
gentlemen brought him over and conducted him into the 
great hall of the Eagle Hotel, where the General was receiv- 
ing the people. It had been contrived that no hint should be 
conveyed to General Jackson of the project. Simpson waa 
led forward, and as he approached one of the party said, 
"General, do you know this man ?" Jackson gave a quick 
glance at Simpson, "Gilbert Simpson, as I live ! Why 
Gilbert, who would have thought it? So you have come to 
see your old General." It was the triumph of Simpson's 
life. After that he issued a new and greatly enlarged edi- 
tion of his reminiscences and expanded beyond the narrow 
sphere of his neighborhood. He attended all the great 
gatherings of the county, and if at any political meeting 
at which he was present any mention was made of the 



298 " HISTORY OB' MISSISSIPPI. 

deeds and sayings of the hero of "Horeshoe, Talladega and 
New Orleans," he would cry out, "that's so." Indeed, he 
became quite an aggressive and overbearing man. 

This writer regards Governor McNutt as one of the ablest 
men intellectually that the State has ever known. He 
often differed with that gentleman, but this did not make 
him blind to the genuine merits of the man. Alex. G. 
McNutt was "no orator as Brutus is," but he was forcible, 
logical and analytical in argument, while as a writer his 
pen gave evidence that he possessed a brilliant wit and a 
genuine sense of humor. That he was an incorruptible 
patriot is unquestionable, while his personal integrity was 
never doubted. His personal courage was frequently 
doubted, but that he possessed the highest moral courage 
admits of no question. For many years he had been in 
the habit of looking into the wine cup when it was red, 
but he determined to abandon all intoxicants, and from 
that day to the hour of his death, about five 3-ears later, 
nothing in the nature of intoxicating drinks ever passed 
his lips. Another intense evidence of his high moral cour- 
age, was his course on the question of repudiation. No 
one knew better than himself the stream of obloquy that 
his advocacy of that question would bring down upon him. 
Yet the storm, however wildly it raged, had no terrors for 
him. Conscious of his own rectitude he went forward 
on his course unmoved. On one occasion he was heard 
to declare that the only epitaph he desired were the simple 
words, "here lies Alexander G. McNutt, the repudiator.'' 
In 1847 he was defeated for a seat in the Senate of the 
United States by Henry S. Foote. The ex Governor was a 
democrat of the firmest faith, and he followed unfalteringly 
the expositions laid down by Thomas Jefferson and Andrew 
Jackson. He was personally amiable, genial, frank and 
generous. 

In 1848 he was a candidate on the democratic electoral 
ticket for the State-at-large, and died rather suddenly, 
October 22d of that year, at Cockrum's Cross-Roads, in 
De Soto county, at the early age of forty six. He left a 
widow but he died childless. 



CHAPTER XIV. 



THE ADMINISTRATION OF GOVERNOR TUCKER. 

TiLGHMAN M. Tucker, a native of North Carolina, was 
the ninth Governor of the State of Mississippi, and the 
fourth chosen by the people under the Constitution of 1832. 

Mr. Tucker came to the State at an early period in its 
history, and located in Monroe county. He studied law 
and was regularly admitted to the bar, but upon the for- 
mation of Lowndes, which was taken from the territory 
originally comprised in Monroe county, he located himself 
at Columbus, the seat of justice of the new county. Here 
he continued the practice of his profession, and his law tirm 
of Tucker and Butter worth, the latter a bright and educated 
gentleman from the State of New York, was for a num- 
ber of years constantly engaged in an extensive and lucra- 
tive practice. Mr. Tucker was regarded by his professional 
associates as a sound, industrious and painstaking lawyer. 
Not at all brilliant or showy, but with a strong sense of 
grim humor. 

He was an amiable, kind-hearted man, loyal to his 
friends, and a gentleman of unquestioned honor and integ- 
rity. His genial character made him popular with the 
people, and for several years he represented Lowndes 
county in the State Senate, and always to the entire satis- 
faction of his constituents. He was serving as a Senator 
from Lowndes when nominated for Governor to supply the 
vacancy occasioned by the abandonment of the ticket as 
well as of the State, by Mr. Hanson AUsberry, who was his 
predecessor as the nominee of the Democratic party for the 
position of Governor. Mr. Tucker entered rather reluc- 
tantly upon the canvass, but after a very bitter and excit- 
ing contest he was elected over his Whig and bond-paying 
competitor, Judge David O, Shattuck. 

The only memorable public event connected with the 
administration of Governor Tucker was the defalcation of 



300 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

Richard S. Graves, the Treasurer of the State, for a large 
sum of money for that day. Graves had been elected by 
the people at the general election which resulted in the 
choice of the anti-bond paying ticket in 1841. 

The story of the defalcation and flight of the Treasurer 
may be briefly stated. In the autumn of 1842, Richard S. 
Graves received from Hon. Walter Forward, then Secretary 
of the Treasury Department of the United States, a draft 
on the Treasurer of the United States for the two and three 
per cent, fund due the State of Mississippi, amounting to 
$165,079. This draft was made payable in U. S. Treasury 
notes, at a future day with interest, and to Richard S. 
Graves, in his individual capacity, and not as State Treas- 
urer. 

Of this amount, $144,214 was paid him October 6th, 

1842. This large sum was received in the treasury with- 
out pay warrant or certificate from the Auditor of Public 
Accounts. This fact, however, did not come to the knowl- 
edge of Governor Tucker until the 5th day of January, 

1843, when he was advised by a letter from Hon. Jacob 
Thompson that Graves had drawn the whole amount of 
the two per cent, fund, which constituted the greater part 
due the State by the general government. The letter of 
Mr. Thompson caused Governor Tucker to investigate 
the power of the Executive, by the laws of the State, 
over the State Treasurer, as well as the contents in the 
treasury. After a careful examination. Governor Tucker 
reached the conclusion, in which he was supported by the 
Attorney- General and employed counsel, that the State 
Treasurer could only be removed by impeachment. 

There was as that time no statute authorizing the Gov- 
ernor to suspend the State Treasurer, or to remove the 
funds from his custody. The investigation, however, led 
to the arrest of Graves, at the instance of the Governor, 
in March, 1843, charged with the offense of embezzlement. 
He was arraigned before Chief Justice Sharkey, of the 
High Court of Errors and Appeals, who presided over the 
committing court. 

During the progress of the trial Graves was in the cus- 
tody of the sheriff of Hinds county, and under guard at 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 301 

his own residence, when Mrs. Graves appeared at the door of 
the room in which her husband was held a prisoner and 
requested to see him. She was granted the privilege, and 
in less than one hour a person supposed to be Mrs. 
Graves came out of the room aad passed the guard going 
to her own apartments. The guard, after considerable 
time, hearing no noise, looked into the room, and saw, 
as they supposed, Graves in bed. A nearer approach 
to the sleeper developed the fact that the occupant of 
the bed was Mrs. Graves, and that it was the defaulting 
Treasurer who passed the guards dressed in his wife's 
apparel. The next heard from Graves he was in Canada, 
where his wife subsequently joined him. 

Soon after his escape, Mrs. Graves requested an inter- 
view with Governor Tucker. When the Governor called 
she delivered to him $69,232.68 in Mississippi treasury 
warrants, $92,000 in United States treasury notes, and 
$2,749.68 in foreign gold. 

On the 31st of March, 1843, Governor Tucker appointed 
Hon. Wm. Clarke, Treasurer of the State to till the unex- 
pired term of R. S. Graves. When the newly appointed 
Treasurer had qualified and given bond, the Governor paid 
into the treasury the funds received by him from Mrs. 
Graves. 

The defalcation of the State Treasurer, together with 
other reasons, induced the Governor to call a special 
session of the Legislature which assembled on July 10th,. 
1843. 

On the second day after the convening of the Legisla- 
ture, Treasurer Clarke submitted a report showing the 
defalcation of his predecessor to be $44,838.46. 

Graves' dishonesty, betrayal of friends and unfaithful- 
ness brought misery and suffering to many. He was still 
living four or five years ago. 

Suit was brought and judgment was obtained against 
Elijah Graves, Thomas Hogg, William Perry, H. P. 
Barnes, Maybray Barfield, R. W. Graves, James Bond, 
John Middleton, Valentine Hamer and Edward Wil- 
liams, as sureties on the bond of R. S, Graves, for the 
sum of $51,865. The Legislature passed an act, approved 



302 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

the 3d day of March, 1848, which authorized the Gov- 
ernor and the Attorney-General to compromise with 
the sureties on such terms as they could effect. 

Some seven or eight years after the passage of the act just 
referred to, authorizing a compromise with the sureties of 
the defaulting Treasurer, his wife appeared at Jackson 
during the session of the Legislature. Mrs. Graves made 
a pathetic and affecting appeal to the Legislature for an 
act of amnesty. She begged hard and piteously for per- 
mission for the return of her husband. She alleged that 
he was growing old, was in feeble health, and his only 
wish was to return to Mississippi to spend the remaining 
years of his life with the friends of his earlier and happier 
days, and when the summons came to him, as it must 
come to all, he desired to be buried in the soil of the 
State he had so wronged, and to be followed to the grave by 
the friends to whom he had been so faithless. She repre- 
sented him as being truly penitent for the wrong he had 
committed ; she alleged that his only hope this side of the 
grave was to return and spend the remainder of his days 
surrounded by the friends and the scenes of his early life. 
She represented him as a broken, care-worn, grief-laden 
old man, sorrowing over his past misdeeds, and with the 
ever-present, heart-sickening yearning for the home he 
had dishonored. The appeal of the wife for the dishon- 
ored husband touched the heart of every member of the 
Legislature, and though it was ably seconded by several 
influential journals of the day, the members of the Legis- 
lature deemed it their inflexible duty to deny her request. 

With an additional load of sorrow benumbing her ener- 
gies and breaking her heart, this devoted wife, after spend- 
ing a few days at the home of her childhood, sadly and 
wearily returned to the frigid region where she had left 
her husband, an exile in the land of strangers. Mrs. Graves 
was the daughter of a reputable citizen of Carroll county, 
and her connections were most respectable. She doubt- 
less has realized, in the past forty-eight years of her life, 
the truth of the scriptural quotation, "the way of the trans- 
gressor is hard," and many a time and oft, the lines of 
Moore, while gazing at her gray-haired, feeble husband, 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 303 

have leaped into her woman's heart, if not uttered in 
spoken words : 

"I know not, I ask not, if guilt's in thy heart, 
I know that I love thee whatever thou art." 

It is not known certainly whether Richard S. Graves, or 
his devoted wife, are yet in the land of the living. If so, 
Graves must be an old, white-haired man, bending under 
the weight of many winters ; and if Mrs. Graves is still a 
sojourner in this land of sorrow, it may be accepted as a 
verity, that *' her step has lost its lightness," her eyes are 
now dim with years and tears, and the rosy hue of early 
youth on her cheeks has been succeeded by white hair 
and wrinkles. 

The only other notable incident during the administra- 
tion of Governor Tucker was of a more pleasing character. 
When he was installed as Governor, the executive man- 
sion had just been completed and handsomely furnished, 
and Tilghman M. Tucker was the first occupant of that 
pleasant home provided by the people for the residence of 
their Chief Executive. 

Col. Richard M. Johnson, of Kentucky, a former Vice- 
President of the United States, a distinguished soldier, 
one of the heroes of the battle of the Thames, and the 
alleged slayer of the celebrated Indian warrior, the famous 
Chief Tecumseh, was a visitor to the capital of Mississip- 
pi. Thus a visitor, it became the duty and the pleasure of 
Governor Tucker to extend all hospitality and courtesy 
to a distinguished gentleman who had won honor on the 
field of battle, ard achieved civic distinction in the council- 
chamber of the nation. Governor Tucker promptly called 
on the ex- Vice President, and tendered him an invitation to 
dine at the Executive Mansion, at a day suiting the con- 
venience of the illustrious stranger. The invitation was 
accepted for a day fixed, and at the time appointed Col. 
Johnson sat down to a very elaborate and elegant din- 
ner at the Executive Mansion, where the Governor had 
invited the Judges of the High Court of Errors and Ap- 
peals, with sundry prominent gentlemen, to meet the old 
warrior and former Vice-President. It may well be con- 
ceived that the dining was a most pleasant one, and as 



304 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

the company separated, each of the guests felt grateful to 
the Governor for the opportunity of meeting and dining 
with the distinguished soldier from Kentucky. 

Before he retired from the Executive office, the people 
elected Governor Tucker a Representative in the twenty- 
eighth Congress, where he served from some time in Janu- 
ary, 1844, to March, 1845. 

This closed the political career of Tighlman M. Tucker, 
and he never held any official position after his retirement 
from Congress. He lived some fourteen years after he re- 
tired from public life, and maintained to the last the high 
reputation he had always enjoyed, that of being a kind, 
genial gentleman of unquestioned integrity. He died in 
Alabama, April 30, 3859. His descendants are quite nu- 
merous in the persons of his grand and great-grand chil- 
dren, all of whom are bearing honored names in the rec- 
ords of Mississippi history. 



THE ADMINISTRATION OF GOVERNOR BROWN. 

Albert Gallatin Brown, born in Chester District, 
South Carolina, May 31, 1813, and brought to the State when 
a mere boy by his father, Mr. Joseph Brown, who settled in 
the county of Copiah, was the tenth Governor of Missis- 
sippi, and the fifth chosen by the people under the Con- 
stitution of 1832. Young Albert Brown received an aca- 
demical education, and it is believed that, for a time, at 
least, he received instruction at Jefferson College, near the 
village of Washington, in Adams county, the first institu- 
tion of learning ever established in Mississippi. He entered 
the House of Representatives in the State Legislature be- 
fore he had reached the age of twenty-two, and in the next 
two years he was elected Speaker of the House. He con- 
tinued to serve as a Representative from that county until 
the close of the session of 1839, when he was nominated 
by the Democratic party as a candidate for Congress, the 
State then being entitled to only two Representatives. Af- 
ter a very thorough canvass among the people, Mr. Brown 
was elected by a handsome majority, as was his "running 
mate," Mr. Jacob Thompson. 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 805 

Mr. Brown served only one term in Congress, and at its 
termination, March 4th, 1841, declined a re-election, but 
instead became a candidate for Judge in his circuit. He 
was easily elected, and served for two years, when he was 
nominated by his party as a candidate for Governor. He 
was elected to this office, also, and in 1845 he was re-elected. 
In the first year of his second term the war with Mexico 
commenced, and as the first regiment of Mississippi was 
sent to Mexico during the administration of Governor 
Brown, and he had much to do with the assembling of that 
gallant regiment, it is deemed proper to embody the record 
made by that famous body of soldiers in a notice of his 
administration. 

The war with Mexico commenced in the year 1846. Col- 
onel Zachary Taylor, recently brevetted to the rank of 
Brigadier-General for long, meritorious and faithful ser- 
vices, was at that period in command of all the United 
States troops on the Mexican frontier of Texas. The com- 
mand of General Tajdor was insignificant in point of num- 
bers, but its officers constituted the elite of the army of the 
United States. The battles of Palo Alto and Resaca de la 
Palma were fought in the month of May, 1846, the former 
on the 8th day of the month, and the latter a few days 
later. Both of these battles resulted in signal victories for 
the American arms. 

The State of Texas had only recently been admitted into 
the sisterhood of the Union — "an indissoluble Union of 
indestructible States,"— and the "lone star," which had 
glittered on the ensign of Texas in solitary splendor, had 
been transferred to the constellation of stars which were 
blazoned in ever-living light on the flag of the Union. The 
news of the brilliant victories won by General Taylor 
spread fast and far through the Union, and created a blaze 
of enthusiasm. A call for volunteers, made by the govern- 
ment at Washington, was promptly complied with, and in 
no section of the country was more promptness and alac- 
rity displayed in responding to the call of the government 
than in the Southern States of the Union. And, in no State, 
north, south, east or west, was there a more enthusiastic 
response made than in the commonwealth of Mississippi. 
20 



306 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

TJaere was a demand for only one regiment of volunteers 
from the State, but more companies were formed and ten- 
dered than would have constituted two full regiments, 
and both the Governor and his Adjutant-General were 
greatly embarrassed by the tender of volunteer soldiers, 
so much beyond their ability to accept. 

Ten companies were finally accepted, and were ordered 
to rendezvous at Vicksburg. In obedience to orders, these 
ten companies were assembled and went into camp near 
that city. The following companies were present, and pro- 
ceeded to organize the regiment by the election of regi- 
mental officers : 

Company A — John M. Sharp, Captain, with P. J. Burrus 
as First, and Ferdinand Bostick as Second Lieutenant. 
Later, Amos B. Corwine, Thomas P. Slade and S. M. Phil- 
lips served in the capacity of Second Lieutenants in Com- 
pany A ; Mr. Corwine became First Lieutenant, and Mr. 
Slade became Assistant Quartermaster for the regiment. 

Company B — Douglass H. Cooper, Captain, with Carnot 
Posey as First, and James Calhoun as Second Lieutenant. 
Later, Samuel R. Harrison served as Second Lieutenant. 

Company C — John Willis, Captain, with Henry F. Cook 
as First, and Richard Griffith as Second Lieutenant. 
Later, Rufus K. Arthur and William H. Scott served as 
Second Lieutenants. 

Company D — Bainbridge D. Howard, Captain, with Dan- 
iel R. Russell as First, and E. W. Hollingsworth as Second 
Lieutenant. Subsequently Thomas J. Kyle, L, T. How- 
ard and Leon Trousdale became Second Lieutenants in the 
company. 

Company E — John L. McManus, Captain, with Crawford 
Fletcher as First, and James H. Hughes as Second Lieu- 
tenant. Charles M. Bradford became Second Lieutenant 
later. 

Company F — William Delay, Captain, with William N. 
Brown as First, and F. J. Malone as Second Lieutenant. 
Later W. W. Redding, John P. Stockard and Josephus J. 
Tatum served as Second Lieutenants. 

Company G — Reuben N. Downing, Captain, with Stephen 
A. D. Gi-eaves as First, and William H. Hampton as Sec- 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 307 

ond Lieutenant. Later, Francis J. McNulty and Samuel 
B. Thomas served as Second Lieutenants of the Company. 

Company H — George P. Crump, Captain, with Robert 
Lindsay Moore as First, and Hugh M. Markham as Second 
Lieutenant. Subsequently J. S. Clendenin, James E. 
Stewart, John Bobb, Jr., John J. Poindexter and Richard 
Hopkins served as Second Lieutenants, and after the battle 
of Buena Vista, where Lieutenant R. L. Moore, command- 
ing Company H, was killed, J. S. Clendenin became Cap- 
tain. 

Company I — James H. R. Taylor, Captain, with Christo- 
pher H. Mott as First, and Samuel H. Dill as Second Lieu- 
tenant. Later, William W. Eppes served as Second Lieu- 
tenant. 

Company K — Alexander K. McClung, Captain, with W. 
H. H. Patterson as First, and W. P. Townsend as Second 
Lieutenant. When Captain McClung was promoted to the 
Lieutenant-Colonelcy, William P. Rogers became Captain 
and William R. Wade served as Second Lieutenant, 

These companies represented the following counties : 
One was from Carroll, Captain Howard; two from Hinds, 
Captains Downing and McManus ; one from Lafayette, 
Captain Delay ; one from Marshall, Captain Taylor ; one 
from Lowndes and Monroe, Captain McClung ; two from 
Warren, Captains Crump and Willis ; one from Wilkinson, 
Captain Cooper, and one from Yazoo, Captain Sharp. 

The election for regimental officers, held at Camp 
" Brown " (so named in compliment to the Governor), near 
Yicksburg, resulted in the choice of the following : 

For Colonel — Jefferson Davis. 

For Lieutenant-Colonel — Alexander K. McClung. 

For Major — Alexander B. Bradford. 

The choice of regimental officers was admirable in every 
respect. Colonel Davis was a graduate of the Military 
Academy at West Point, and had seen seven years of hard 
and active service on our western frontier, and was in 
every respect fully equipped for command. 

Lieutenant-Colonel McClung was a man of superb ability 
and unquestioned courage, and had served several years as 
a midshipman in the navy of the United States; and Major 



308 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

Bradford had had large experience in the Indian war in 
Florida, where he had participated in several sanguinary 
battles with the red men, led by the distinguished Osceola,, 
the Chief of the Seminole Indians. 

Col. Davis at the time he was elected to the command of 
the First Mississippi Regiment was serving as one of the 
Representatives of the State in the National Congress. 
Lieutenant-Colonel McClung at once assumed the command 
of the regiment, and appointed Lieutenant Richard Griffith,, 
a subaltern in one of the Vicksburg companies, as Adjutant 
of the command, which office he retained during the entire 
service of the regiment in Mexico, and discharged the oner- 
ous duties of his position with a fidelity, accuracy and 
ability rarely surpassed. 

Col. Davis at once resigned his seat as a Representative 
in Congress, and accepted the command of the Mississippi 
Volunteers, and orders were soon issued to the regiment 
to proceed to New Orleans, and there to embark for Point 
Isabel, at the mouth of the Rio Grande river. Col. Davis 
immediately procured from the War Department an order 
to have his regiment armed with rifles, and sailed from 
New York for the seat of war. The same vessel which 
bore Col. Davis to the field of his fame, carried also the 
rifles with which to arm his gallant band of soldiers. 
After a brief but uneventful voyage, Col. Davis reached 
his destination, and the new arms were distributed to the 
con^flcrand. 

t is unnecessary here to go into any detail of the ser- 
vices of the First Mississippi Regiment in Mexico. The 
world knows by heart the wondrous performances of that 
veteran band. After several months of drill on the banks of 
the Rio Grande, the regiment was ordered to join General 
Taylor's advance on Monterey. It is idle now to recount 
how the soldier boys of Mississippi charged through fire, 
smoke and slaughter, in the streets of Monterey, in< 
those sultry days of September, 1846. Lieutenant-Colonel 
McClung was desperately wounded while leading an assault 
on the "Black Fort." The soldiers suffered severely from 
the fire of the enemy who were posted on the tops of the 
houses on either side of the streets, but the stern valor of 




HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 309 

the men, coupled with the dogged perseverance of sturdy 
old General Taylor, who had already obtained the soubri- 
quette of "rough and ready," prevailed against superior 
numbers, protected as they were behind strong fortifica- 
tions^ 
ll ^After three days of carnage a white flag was displayed 
nv'^/from the Mexican stronghold, indicating a desire for a 
' ^ truce and a parley. The parley was granted. Col. Davis 
was appointed by General Taylor one of the commission- 
ers to arrange the stipulations for a surrender. The 
strongly fortified city of Monterey, held by a force greatly 
outnumbering that of the assaulting party, was surrendered 
to the American army, and continued to be held by the 
successful forces as a depot of supplies until the close of 
the war. 

It is not creditable to the National House of Representa- 
tives at Washington to remember, that while that body 
was passing a vote of thanks to General Taylor, and the 
officers and men under his command, for the signal and 
brilliant victory their valor had won, the House, by a 
small majority, loaded the resolution down with a proviso 
which implied a disapproval of the terms of the capitula- 
tion of Monterey. It is deeply to be regretted that the author 
of that proviso was a Representative from Mississippi (Hon. 
Jacob Thompson). Thanks, when tendered at all, should 
be offered in unstinted measure, but when accompanied 
with a proviso they should be withheld altogether. The 
expression of gratitude should be sincere and hearty, and 
any attempt to handicap that expression with an "if" or an 
*'and," or a "proviso," destroys the entire value of the 
thanks tendered, and robs it of the grace and the gracious- 
ness which should always accompany the utterance of 
gratitude. Without that grace and graciousness, the ex- 
pression of thanks becomes as valueless as a withered 
flower or a worthless weed. 

But new honors and greener laurels awaited the First 
Mississippi Regiment in its career of glory. General Tay- 
lor had determined to penetrate into the interior of Mexico, 
and offer battle to General Santa Anna who was busily 
engaged in raising an army of many thousands of all 



x^^ 



310 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

arras, with wliich he fondly hoped to crush the small force 
under the command of General Taylor. The opposing 
forces met on the field of Buena Vista on the 21st day 
February, 1847. After vigorous and fierce fighting for 
three days General Santa Anna and his army of twenty 
thousand soldiers were driven from the field in disgraceful 
flight. During the stubborn conflict of those three memora- 
ble days, the First Mississippi Regiment bore a most con- 
spicuous part. They not only fought under the immediate 
direction of their gallant commander, Colonel Jefferson 
Davis, but their action fell under the observation of their 
heroic old General. 

By his celebrated "V formation," in a narrow pass-way, 
with a mountain on one side and a deep gorge on the 
other. Col. Davis was enabled to repel the advance of the 
lancers of the Mexican army, commanded by General Mig- 
non, and thus was able to snatch victory from the very 
jaws of defeat. By this masterly movement Col. Davis 
drove General Mignon and his lancers flying from the 
field, and saved the day for the American army. Col. 
Davis was severely wounded in the operations of the last 
day of the conflict, but though suffering excruciating pain, 
he refused to retire from the field until the victory was com- 
plete and the Mexican hosts commanded by General Santa 
Anna were flying ingloriously from the theatre of their 
disaster. 

A few years after the close of hostilities in Mexico, Col. 
Davis had the gratification of seeing his "V movement" 
successfully repeated by General Sir Colin Campbell, the 
distinguished English commander in India, subsequently 
better known as Lord Clyde. 

After the battle of Buena Vista, General Winfield Scott, 
with a strong force of the army, aided by the United States 
navy, was sent to Mexico to assail the strong fortification 
of San Juan de Ulloa, at Vera Cruz. That strong fortress 
soon yielded to the impetuous assault of the American 
soldiery, and General Scott made instant preparations to 
move on to the capital of Mexico, the ancient city of the 
Aztecs. It does not fall within the scope of this work to 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 811 

enter upon the details of the splendid march of the American 
army from the sea to the City of Mexico The battles of 
Cerro Gordo, Cftapultepec, Cheruhusco, Mil del Rey and 
Contreras, followed in rapid and brilliant succession. 
These splendid triumphs brought the victorious army of 
General Scott within plain view of the ancient and beauti- 
ful capital of Montezuma, and the army that had never 
encountered defeat on the soil of Mexico made instant 
preparations to attack and capture the city. With what 
impetuous valor the American soldiers assaulted and 
carried the Garita Belen. (the Belen gate,) and other ap- 
proaches to the city need not be told. The world knows 
the wonderful and fascinating story, and to-day the recital 
reads like one of the marvelous stories contained in the 
"Arabian Nights Entertainment," a volume that has en- 
tranced and delighted millions of young hearts in every 
quarter of the civilized globe, and will continue to do so 
until "the letters Cadmus gave" are lost in the dim twilight 
of the world's decay. And it was a Mississippi Major Gen- 
eral, John A. Quitman, who gave the order to fling to the 
breeze the first American flag that ever floated above the 
ramparts of the conquered capital. He was also the first 
American Governor that ever held sway in that city. 

Shortly after the capture of the City of Mexico, the 
officers of the American army formed a social organization 
called the "Aztec Club," and Major-General John A. Quit- 
man was the first and only president of the Club. 

The officers and privates of the First Regiment of Missis- 
sippi Volunteers were, for the most part, young and beard- 
less fellows, representing the best families in the State ; 
they were fresh from school and college ; fresh from their 
fathers' plantations ; fresh from the counting rooms in the 
various towns in the State; fresh from the workshops of 
industrious and intelligent mechanics ; and fresh from their 
studies in the offices of learned lawyers and eminent 
physicians. All unused were those eager spirits to the 
toilsome march, to the lonely bivouac, to the dull, mono- 
tonous routine of camp duty, and utterly oblivious to the 
dangers of the battle field, and all were eager for the stir- 



312 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

ring, joyous "rapture of the strife." They went forth to 
avenge the outraged honor of a common country. They 
periled their lives on a foreign soil, and under strange 
stars. They fought, they bled and they died, under, and 
to uphold the honor of the tiag they loved better than their 
lives, the beautiful star-spangled banner of the free, immor- 
talized in undying verse, by the genius of Francis S. Key, 
while a prisoner on board a British man-of-war, during 
the bombardment of Fort McHenry, in the harbor of Balti- 
more, in 1814. And well did those gallant sons of Missis- 
sippi emulate the ancient renown won by the fathers of 
the State. They well remembered the honors accorded to 
the soldiers of Mississippi on the plains of Chalmette, 
when the great victory of New Orleans was an accom- 
plished fact, as well as the record their fathers had made 
in many a fierce and stubborn conflict with the merciless 
Indian foe. At Monterey, and in the gorges of Buena 
Vista, they entwined the "old flag" with fresh laurels, and 
emblazoned its starry t'olds with radiant and imperishable 
glory. And yet, those heroic men who lived to engage in 
the defence of Mississippi, in defence of their homes, and 
all that man holds dear in the world, are to day flippantly 
denounced as "rebels" and 'traitors," who should daily and 
nightly, on bended knees, thank a "magnanimous govern- 
ment" that they are still permitted to live and breathe the 
atmosphere which a good and merciful God vouchsafes to 
all of his creatures. 

These political vampires, in the exuberance of their 
detraction and calumny, forget, if they ever knew the fact, 
that General Joseph Warren, one of the flrst great martyrs 
of liberty, and the rights of man on this continent, fell at 
Bunker Hill "a red-handed rebel," and filled a rebel's crim- 
son grave. They also forget the history of the great Eng- 
lish apostle of liberty and patriotism, John Hampden. 
After resisting the encroachments of King Charles the 
First, in Parliament, he retired to his estates in Bucking- 
hamshire, where he raised and equipped a regiment at his 
own expense, and led it to battle under a banner, upon 
whose silken folds were inscribed the words, "no step 
backwards." John Hampden fell in his flrst battle, and 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 313 

no man can be found in "Merrie England" to-day, so lost 
to all sense of shame or decency, as to couple that honored 
name with the foul, dishonoring name of traitor or rebel. 

It is not creditable to the American government that 
these heroic Mexican veterans, who achieved so much 
glory for the national arms, extended so vastly the area of 
American freedom, and added so much to the national 
wealth, should have been denied a pension, until a vast 
number' of them had passed " over the river to rest 
under the shade of the green trees," which greeted 
the dying gaze of Stonewall Jackson. If the government 
had been poor and unable to pension those gallant sol- 
diers, no complaint would have been uttered. But this 
was not the fact. The government was great, rich and 
prosperous, and from the inception of a later and more 
gigantic war, money has been poured out like water, 
to pension the defenders of the "old flag;" and the golden 
stream continues to grow and swell, until more than a 
billion and a quarter of dollars have already been ex- 
pended for pensions, and yet the tide rises higher and 
higher, and like Tennyson's brook, promises to "flow on 
forever." 

As a possible explanation of this heartless injustice on 
the part of the government, it may be added that more 
than one-half of the entire number of the American soldiers 
engaged in the war with Mexico were furnished by the 
Southern States, the States "lately engaged in rebellion," 
and this, despite the fact of the great disparity of the pop- 
ulation in the two sections of the Union. 

Nothing can better illustrate the splendid material com- 
posing the rank and file of the First Mississippi Regiment 
in Mexico, than the gallantry displayed by them in the 
great war between the States. 

Captain Douglass H. Cooper, of Company B, and his 
first lieutenant, Carnot Posey, each became brigadier gen- 
erals in the Confederate army. The latter was colonel of 
the 16th regiment, and was soon promoted to the rank of 
brigade commander. General Posey was killed in battle 
in Virginia. 

Second Lieutenant Richard Griffith, of Company C, and 



314 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

adjutant of the regiment, entered the Confederate army 
as colonel of the 12th Mississippi Regiment, was made 
brigadier-general, and was killed in battle in Virginia 
while leading his brigade. 

First Lieutenant Daniel R. Russell, of Company D, en- 
tered the Confederate service as colonel of the 20th Mis- 
sissippi regiment. 

First Lieutenant Wra. N. Brown, of Company F, was 
chosen lieutenant-colonel of the 20th regiment, and subse- 
quently succeeded to the colonelcy in the Confederate 
service. 

Second Lieutenant Samuel B. Thomas, of Company G, 
entered the Confederate service as captain of a Hinds 
county company in the 12th, and finally rose to the 
colonelcy of the regiment. 

Sergeant Horace H. Miller, of Company H, and later 
sergeant major of the regiment, entered the Confederate 
service as a company commander in the 12th, was for a 
time lieutenant-colonel of the 20th, during the imprison- 
ment of Lieutenant-Colonel Brown, who was surrendered 
at Fort Donaldson, and finally became colonel of a fine 
cavalry regiment, which he commanded until the close of 
hostilities. 

First Lieutenant Christopher H. Mott, of Company I, 
entered the Confederate army as colonel of the 19th Mis- 
sissippi Regiment, and was killed at the battle of Wil- 
liamsburg, in Virginia, on the retreat from Yorkto wn in 
1862. Colonel Mott died a brigadier-general, though he 
had not received his commission when he fell mortally 
wounded. 

Captain William P. Rogers, of Company K, died on the 
breast-works of the enemy at Corinth, Mississippi, pierced 
by a dozen balls, while leading a Texas regiment of which 
he was the colonel. 

And finally, Private James Z. George, of Company D. 
then a beardless stripling, returned home after che war, 
studied law and was admitted to the bar ; was elected by 
the Legislature as reporter of the decisions of the High 
Court of Errors and Appeals ; became colonel and briga- 
dier-general of State troops, and after the war, became 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 315 

Chief Justice of the Supreme Court; and is now closing his 
second term in the United States Senate. 

Another regiment of Mississippi volunteers was called 
fur in the autumn of 1846, and was promptly furnished. 
This regiment sailed for Mexico with the following Held and 
staff: Reuben Davis, Colonel ; J. H. Kilpatrick, Lieutenant- 
Colonel ; EzraR. Price, Major; Beverly Mathews, Adju- 
tant; William Barksdale, A. C S.; Charles M. Price, A.Q. 
M.; Thomas N. Love, Surgeon ; D. A. Kinchloe, Assistant 
Surgeon. 

After some seven months of weary and monotonous in- 
activity. Colonel Davis and Lieutenant-Colonel Kilpatrick 
resigned and returned to their homes. The regiment was 
re-organized by the election of Captain Charles Clark, of 
Company G, as colonel, and Lieutenant John A. Wilcox, 
of Company A, as lieutenant-colonel. 

This second regiment of Mississippi citizen soldiers was 
composed of splendid material, but they did not, during 
their entire service in Mexico, have the pleasure of partici- 
pating even in an insignificant skirmish. If the oppor- 
tunity had been afforded them there can be no question 
that they would have shed additional luster upon the 
American arms, and added new glory to the escutcheon of 
Mississippi. To show the soldierly material of the second 
regiment, it may be stated that the roster of that regiment 
furnished two Brigadier-Generals, and one Major-General 
to the army of the Confederate States. 

The first of these was Brigadier-General Charles Clark, 
who was severely wounded at the battle of Shiloh, and 
desperately wounded at Baton Rouge, Louisiana. On each 
of these occasions he was in command of a division. 

The second was Brigadier-General William Barksdale, 
who had been commissary for the second regiment. He 
entered the Confederate service as Colonel of the l^th 
Mississippi regiment, was promoted to Brigadier-General, 
and fell '-devoted but undying," at the head of his brigade 
on the heights of Gettysburg. 

Second Lieutenant Thomas C. Hindman, of Company E., 
entered the Confederate army as colonel of an Arkansas 
regiment. He was soon promoted to be a brigade com- 



316 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

mander, and was finally made major-general. Having re- 
moved to Arkansas, General Hindman was chosen a repre- 
sentative in Congress from that State before the commence- 
ment of the war between the States. 

Captain Andrew K. Blythe, of Company A., entered the 
service of the Confederate States as colonel of an infantry 
regiment, long known as "Blythe's Regiment." and was 
killed while leading his command at the battle of Shiloh 
on the 6th day of April, 1862. 

Second Lieutenant P. F. Liddell, of Company C , served 
in the Confederate army as lieutenant-colonel of the 11th 
Mississippi regiment, and was killed at the second battle 
of Manassas, September 80th, 1862. 

First Lieutenant William C. Falkner, of Company E., 
entered the Confederate army as colonel of the Second 
Mississippi regiment. He participated in the first battle of 
Manassas, resigned his command a few months after and 
raised a cavalry regiment of which he became colonel. 

Second Lieutenant Chesley S. Coffee, and later captain 
of Company G., entered the Confederate army as a captain 
in the 19th Mississippi regiment, and fell heroically in 
battle in Virginia. 

Captain Adam McWillie, of Company H., was killed at 
the first battle of Manassas on the 21st day of July, 1861, 
while commanding a company in the 18th regiment Missis- 
sippi Volunteers. 

Second Lieutenant Eli G. Henry, of Company H., was 
killed in battle in Virginia, as major of the 18th Missis- 
sippi regiment. At the expiration of his second term as 
Governor, Mr. Brown was elected a Representative in the 
National Congress, and he was twice re-elected. Before 
his third term expired in the House of Representatives, he 
had been elected to the United States Senate, and took his 
seat on the 4th day of March, 1853. He was reelected in 
1859, but retired with his colleagues of both houses, on 
the 12th day of January, 1861, three days after the seces- 
sion of Mississippi, and a few months subsequently the 
Senate enacted the solemn farce of "expelling" him and 
his colleague, Jefferson Davis, long after these gentlemen 
had, of their own free will, shaken the dust of the Senate 
chamber from their feet. 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 317 

When ex-Governor and ex-Senator Brown returned to 
his home, he immediately raised a volunteer company for 
service in the army of the Confederate States of America, 
of which he was at once and unanimously elected captain. 
He and his company formed a portion of the 18th Regi- 
ment Mississippi Volunteers, and they participated in the 
first battle of Manassas, and in the bloody engagement 
in the following October at Leesburg. 

In the winter of 1861-'62, ex-Senator Brown was elected 
to the Confederate Senate, where he continued to serves 
until the surrender of Gren. Robert E. Lee, and the close of 
hostilities. 

After the war, ex-Senator Brown never held any official 
position, though he sometimes gave the people some re- 
markably sound advice. 

During his gubernatorial service. Governor Brown 
labored earnestly to get the legislature to adopt a sound, 
healthy system of public schools, but his efforts were in 
vain. He had, however, the satisfaction of seeing the 
State University put into successful operation, and he had 
the gratification of knowing, before he died, that hundreds 
of bright young Mississippians had been graduated at 
that institution, and thus prepared for lives of honorable 
usefulness. 

Albert G. Brown was a genuine man of the people. He 
believed that the masses were honest and patriotic, and 
would always do right when properly informed as to their 
duty. He trusted the people with the simple faith of a 
child in its mother, and the people in turn repaid this 
trusting confidence in a ten-fold degree. In public life, 
from young manhood to old age, he was never compelled 
to drink the bitter waters of defeat. He was uniformly 
successful and never desired a position that was denied 
him by the people. 

Among other interesting incidents occurring during the 
first term of the administration of Governor Brown may 
be mentioned the visit to the Capital of Mississippi of the 
Hon. Henry Clay, of Kentucky, in the spring of 1«44. 
Learning that the great Whig leader would make a stop 
at Vicksburg for a few days on his voyage from New Or- 



318 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

leans to his beloved home, Ashland, Kentucky, the devoted 
friends and admirers of "Harry of the West " assembled 
in the hall of the House of Representatives and appointed a 
committee, one of which was the now venerable David Shel- 
ton, widely known as an able lawyer, and universally re- 
spected for his many manly qualities and the purity of his 
character, to Tisit the city of Vicksburg and escort the 
great statesman and the idolized leader of the Whig party 
to the capital. 

The committee thus appointed went to Vicksburg, met 
the distinguished "Commoner," and escorted him to the 
Capital of the State. The Hon. Sargent S. Prentiss, then a 
citizen of Vicksburg, accompanied the party to Jackson. 
Arrived at the city, Mr. Clay was received by an immense 
concourse of people, placed in an open barouche and driven 
to the capitol, where he addressed a mighty throng of his 
admiring fellow-citizens, after which he was introduced to 
and took by the hand hundreds of ladies and gentlemen. 

Mr. Clay, during his brief visit to the city of Jackson, 
was the recipient of many delicate attentions, evidences of 
the high estimation in which he was held by the people of 
Mississippi. Henry Clay, and his eloquent companion, 
Sargent S. Prentiss, crossed the dark river into that undis- 
covered country "from which no traveler returns" many 
years ago, and it is doubtful if a solitary member of the 
committee survives to-day, with the exception of Mr. David 
Shelton, already referred to. 

Albert Gr. Brown died suddenly at his home near Terry, 
in Hinds county, on the 12th day of June, 1880. 



CHAPTER XV. 



THE ADMINISTRATION OF GOVERNOR MATHEWS. 

JOSEPH Mathews, born, it is believed in the State of 
Tennessee, came to Mississippi at an early period of his 
life, and settled in Marshall county. He represented that 
county in the State Senate, and was elected by the Demo- 
cratic party in the year 1847 as the successor of Governor 
Brown, and thus became the eleventh Governor of the com- 
monwealth, and the sixth chosen by the people under the 
Constitution of 1832. 

Governor Mathews had a very limited education, but 
possessed a vigorous mind, and in many respects was a 
very able man. He developed into a forcible speaker and 
was always listened to by the people with profound atten- 
tion. He was in early life a well digger by profession, and 
when he entered public life he was popularly known as the 
"well digger," and otherwise as "copperas breeches,'- from 
his habit of wearing copperas- colored trousers. Governor 
Mathews was regarded as an honest and patriotic man, of 
amiable disposition, but perfectly fearless in the expres- 
sion of his political sentiments. He was a devoted Demo- 
crat, believed in the people, and was the disciple of Thomas 
Jefferson and Andrew Jackson in their exposition of the 
true principles of republican government and the rights 
of men. No remarkable event rendered the administra- 
tion of Governor Mathews notably conspicuous, but he 
served the people of Mississippi with zeal and fidelity, 
and to the entire satisfaction of the people of both parties. 
Governor Mathews held no official position after his retire- 
ment from the executive office, and seemed to regard the 
"private station as the post of honor." 

Governor Joseph Mathews died during the progress of 
the great war between the States. 



320 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

THE ADMINISTRATION OF GOVERNOR QUITMAN. 

John A. Quitman, born in the village of Rhinebeck, on 
the Hudson river, in the empire State of New York, was 
the son of an able and scholarly minister of the Lutheran 
church, and became the twelfth Governor of the common- 
wealth, and the seventh chosen under the Constitution of 
1832, which he largely aided in framing. 

After completing his education young Quitman studied 
law and removed to Ohio, but soon growing tired of life 
in the West he resolved to remove to Mississippi. He ar- 
rived at Natchez in 1821, and soon formed a partnership 
with a distinguished lawyer, and laid the foundation of a 
large fortune. He was elected to the Constitutional Con- 
vention of 1832, as a delegate from Adams county, and 
later he was elected to the State Senate from Adams county, 
and becoming president of that body, the duties of the 
executive were devolved upon him for a few weeks in 1835. 
Subsequently he became a candidate for chancellor, and 
although he had opposed the election of judges by the 
popular voice, he was soon ■ afterwards elected chancellor 
of the State, which position he tilled for several years to 
the entire satisfaction of the members of the bar and the 
people. 

In 1849, after returning from Mexico, where he had 
gained much distinction as a major-general in the army of 
the United States, he became the nominee of the Demo- 
cratic party for Governor. With the halo of fame which 
he had earned in Mexico, he was without difficulty elected, 
and was inducted into office in January, 185'J. 

The first Legislature during the administration of Gov- 
ernor Quitman took strong grounds in favor of "resist- 
ance" to the compromise measures, and called a Conven- 
tion of delegates to be chosen by the people in every 
county to meet in September, 1851, to take measures for the 
"redress of grievances." The admission of California with 
a Constitution excluding slavery from her territory pro- 
duced intense excitement in several Southern States, but 
in no quarter was the excitement greater than in the com- 
monwealth of Mississippi. 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 321 

Few people cared to take their slave property to Cali- 
fornia, perhaps, but they were irritated beyond measure 
by the denial of what they considered an irrefragible right. 
Meantime, a convention composed of delegates from sundry 
Southern States had been held in Nashville, Tennessee, 
where inflammatory resolutions were adopted in the years 
1850 and 1851. Excitement continued to grow and spread 
in Mississippi. Parties were disrupted and new combina- 
tions were formed. Governor Quitman having, with many 
other gentlemen, been indicted by the grand jury of the 
Federal Court for the district of Louisiana, for his alleged 
complicity with the Lopez expedition against Cuba, laid 
down his official robes, and resigned the position of Gov- 
ernor, and appeared before the United States Court to 
answer to the indictment against him in his individual 
capacity, as John A. Quitman, a private citizen of Missis- 
sippi. He was tried, and of course, was acquitted. 

By the resignation of Governor Quitman the duties of 
the Executive were devolved upon John Isaac Guion, then 
representing Hinds county in the State Senate, and the 
president of that body. Judge Guion was a native of 
Mississippi, a profound lawyer, a gracelul speaker, and a 
genial, honorable gentleman. He continued to exercise 
the duties of the Executive until the expiration of his 
term as Senator, when he retired, and gave way for James 
Whitfield, Avho represented Lowndes county in the Sen- 
ate, and was made president of that body as the successor 
of Judge Guion. Mr. Whitfield continued in the perform- 
ance of all Executive duties until his legally elected suc- 
cessor was installed, early in January, 1852. Thus was 
the strange spectacle presented to the people of Missis- 
sippi, of four gentlemen discharging the duties of Gov- 
ernor in less than one year. 

General Quitman had been re-nominated for election as 
Governor, and his opponents, composed in large part of 
the old Whig party, reinforced by a considerable con- 
tingent of Democrats, and calling themselves the "Union 
party," placed in nomination for the Chief Magistracy of 
the State, Henry S. Foote, then representing the State in 
the Senate of the United States. The canvass was bitter 
21 



322 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

and exciting. Each party had its candidates for the Con- 
vention and the Legislature in the field in every county 
in the State. The election for delegates occurred in Au- 
gust, 1851, and resulted in an overwhelming triumph of the 
Union party. General Quitman promptly abandoned the 
contest, frankly declaring that the people had decided 
against the views held by him, and that having no per- 
sonal purpose to subserve in remaining any longer in the 
position of a candidate for Governor, he declined at once. 

This left the resisters without a leader, and all eyes were 
turned to Col. Jefferson Davis, in the hope that he could 
repeat his tactics at Buena Vista, stem the tide of opposi- 
tion, turn defeat into triumph, and drive back their ex- 
ulting opponents, as he drove the Mexican lancers from 
the field in a more deadly encounter. It was not to be, 
however. Colonel Davis reluctantly accepted the leader- 
ship, and entered upon the canvass, and though the Union 
party had obtained a majority of nearly seven thousand at 
the August election for delegates to the Convention, at the 
general election in November, Senator Foote was elected 
Governor by the meagre majority of nine hundred and 
ninety-nine votes. 

In the September previous, the Convention called by the 
Legislature had assembled. Mr. Carmack, of Tishomingo, 
was elected president, and that body, after being in ses- 
sion a week or ten days, adjourned sine die^ after declar- 
claring its unalterable fealty to the Union. 

In November, 1855, General Quitman was elected a 
Representative in Congress, and in 1857, he was re-elected, 
and died at his home near Natchez, July 7th, 1858. 

General Quitman was universally esteemed and honored 
by the people of Mississippi, for his courage, his high and 
honorable character, the great purity of his life, and for 
the kind and genial heart he possessed. His death was 
widely lamented, and the people of nearly every county in 
the State paid fitting tributes to his worth. 



THE ADMINISTRATION OF GOVERNOR FOOTE. 

Henry S. Foote, a native of Fauquier county, Virginia, 
born September 20, 1800, was elected in November, 1851, 



, HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 323 

and thus became the thirteenth governor of the common- 
wealth, and the eighth chosen under the constitution of 
1832. Mr. Foote came to Mississippi about 1830. He pos- 
sessed a thorough classical education, and through his 
long and somewhat stormy life, was a close student, eager- 
ly reading everything which came within his reach. He 
was an able lawyer and a fluent and forcible debater. In 
politics he was in his natural element, and no Irishman at 
Donnybrook fair ever enjoyed a scrimmage with more de- 
light than did Henry S. Foote enjoy a political shindy. 

He was nominated and elected to the Senate of the 
United States, and took his seat in that body in December, 
1847, and remained in the Senate to within a brief period 
of his inauguration as Governor, to which position he had 
been elected in November, 1851, after a tierce and bitter 
contest. 

The tirst year of the administration of Governor Foote 
was marked by the death of one of the greatest statesmen 
of his age, Henry Clay, the "great commoner" of Ken- 
tucky. At the next session of the Legislature, which 
assembled in January, 1853, Col. Alexander Keith McClung, 
who had won distinction as the second officer of the First 
Mississippi regiment in Mexico, was invited to deliver an 
address upon the life, character and public services of one 
of the truly great men who had left the impress of his 
genius upon the times in which he lived. 

Colonel McClung was born in Virginia while his mother 
was visiting a sick sister, though the home of both parents 
was in Mason county, Kentucky, where the boy was 
raised. 

The father of Col. McClung was an eminent jurist and 
his mother was a sister of the great Chief Justice of the 
Supreme Court of the United States, John Marshall. Hence 
intellect and genius were the birthright of Alexander K. 
McClung. 

Young McClung served several years of his early life as a 
midshipman in the American navy, but Anally resigned and 
studied law. In 1833, having been admitted to the bar, he 
migrated to Jackson, then, as now, the capital of the State, 
Here he won early recognition, not only for his superior 



324 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. ^ 

intellectual qualities, but for his scholastic attainments, 
and the rare analytical|and reasoning powers he possessed. 
When the Legislature invited Col. McClung to deliver an 
address upon the life, character and public services of Mr. 
Clay, he promptly accepted and prepared a splendid liter- 
ary effort, which we here embody in these pages, as a speci- 
men of criticism upon the great dead, at once eloquent and 
just, which deserves to be perpetuated as a gem of rare 
English, allied with great power of analysis : 
Ladies and Gentlemen : 

We have met to commemorate the life and services of Henry 
Clay. After a long life, after a long, useful and illustrious 
career, he has passed away. The fiery and aspiiing spirit, 
whose earthly life was one long storm, has at length sunk to 
rest. I^either praise nor censure can now reach him. When 
his haughty soul passed away from the earth, and the grave 
closed over his dust, it also entombed in its dark and narrow 
chamber the bitterness of detraction, and the tiger ferocity of 
party spirit, with which he had so long wrestled. Death has 
hallowed his name and burnished his services bright in the 
memory of his countrymen. 

We have met to express, in the manner which the custom of 
our country has established, our appreciation of those services 
and our sense of his glory. We have met, not as partisans or 
friends — political- or personal — of the illustrious dead, but as 
Americans desirous to do honor to a great American. 

In attempting to discharge the duty which has been imposed 
upon me, I shall avoid the indiscriminate eulogy which is the 
proverbial blemish of obituaries and funeral discourses, and 
shall essay, however feebly, to represent Mr. Clay as he was, or 
at least, as he seemed to me. 

Great beings — grand human creatures — scattered sparsely 
throughout time, should be painted with truth. An indiscrimi- 
nate deluge of praise drowns mediocrity and greatness in the 
same grave, where none can distinguish between them. 

When the greatest of all Englishmen, Oliver Cromwell, sat to 
the painter Lely for his portrait, whose pencil was addicted to 
flattery, he said : "Paint me as I am; leave not out one wrinkle, 
scar or blemibh, at your peril." He wished to go to the world 
as he was, and greatness is wise in wishing it. No man the 
world ever saw was equally great in every quality of intellect 
and in every walk of action. All men are unequal ; and it is 
tasteful as well as just, to plant the praise where it is true, rather 
than to drown all individuality and all character in one foaming 
chaos of eulogy. 

Henry Clay was most emphatically a peculiar and strongly 
marked character ; incomparably more peculiar than any of those 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 325 

who were popularly considered his mental equals. Impetuous 
as a torrent, yet patient to gain his ends ; overbearing and 
trampling, yet winning and soothing ; haughtj' and fierce, yet 
kind and gentle ; dauntlessly brave in all kinds of courage, yet 
eminently prudent and conservative in all his policy — all these 
moral attributes, antithetical as they seem, would shine under 
different phases of his conduct. 

I need not detain this audience with a lengthened biographical 
sketch of Mr. Clay. The leading historical incidents of his life 
are universally known. He was born in Virginia, certainly not 
later than 1775, most probably a year or two earlier. His par- 
entage was exceedingly humble. At the age of twenty, twenty- 
one or twenty-two, he emigrated to Lexington, Kentucky, where 
he undertook to pursue the great American road to eminence — • 
the bar. For this career, it would have seemed, at that time, 
that his advantages were small indeed. Young, poor and uncon- 
nected, with scarcely ordinary attainments of education, he en- 
tered the lists with numerous and able competitors. 

Yet, Henry Clay, destitute as he was, of adventitious advan- 
tages, was not destined to struggle upward along the weary and 
laborious path through which mediocrisy toils to rank. The 
cedar imbedded in the barren rocks, upon the mountain side, 
with scarcely soil to feed its roots, will tower above the tallest 
of the forest; for it is its nature to do so. So this great genius 
at once shot up like a shaft. He rose to high rank at the bar. 
In 1799, he was elected to the Kentucky Legislature; in 1806, to 
the United States Senate; in 1811, to the House of Representa- 
tives, and there began his national career. Since that time, Mr. 
Clay has filled a large space in the public eye. His career has 
been checkered, stormy and tempestuous. Now the object of uni- 
versal praise ; now attacked with very general censure ; now cul- 
minating upon the crest of fortune's wave; then dashed upon the 
rocks and overwhelmed with roar and clamor. It was his fate 
at periods of his career to drain to the bottom that measure of 
relentless hate with which mean souls resent the imperial pride 
of haughty genius. It was his fate to feel that constant success 
is the only shield which greatness and glory can rear against the 
poison of envy and slander's venomous sting. 

"He who ascends to mountains' tops, shall find 

The loftiest peaks most wrapped in clouds and snow; 
He who surpasi-es or subdues mankind, 

Must look down on the hate of those below; 
Though high above the sun of glory glow. 

And far beneath are earth and ocean spread. 
Around him are icy rocks, and loudly blow 

Contending tempests on his naked head. 
Thus to reward the toils which to these summits led," 

That strong mind was tried by every extremity of fortune, 
and if sometimes inflated by success, yet borne up by the all- 
deathless thirst for renown, the grand incentive to all great toils 
or glorious deeds, he was never depressed by defeat. He faced 



326 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

his enemies, he faced fortune and he faced defeat with the same 
dauntless heart and the same unquailing brow, in youth and in 
age, regardless when or how they came, or what the peril might 
be. Yet when most overborne with calumny, when hatred raged 
fiercest against his person, and he was most stained with slander 
— even at that time, to enemies as to friends he was an object of 
admiring respect. When lashed into fury by disappointment, 
defeat and opposition, and the stormy passions of his tempes- 
tuous soul raged like a whirlwind, his bitlerest opponent would 
gaze curiously upon him with a strange mixture of hatred, fear 
and admiration. 

There are many phases in which it is necessary to regard Mr. 
Clay, to reach a correct estimate of his character; and to accom- 
plish their delineation without a degree of jumbling confusion, 
is a work of some difficulty. As an orator he was brilliant and 
grand, None of his contemporaries could so stir men's blood. 
None approached him in his mastery over the heart and the 
imagination of his hearers. Of all the gifts with which nature 
decks her favorites, not the greatest or grandest certainly, but 
the most brilliant, the most fascinating, and for a moment the 
most powerful, is exalted eloquence. Before its fleeting and 
brief glare, the steady light of wisdom, logic or philosophy pales, 
as the stars fade before the meteor. With this choice and glori- 
ous gift nature had endowed Mr. Clay beyond all men of the age. 
Like all natural orators, he was very unequal, sometimes sink- 
ing to commonplace mediocrity, then again when the occasion 
roused his genius, he would soar aloft in towering majesty. He 
had little or none of the tinsel of rhetoric or the wordy finery 
which always lies within the reach of the rhetorician's art. 

Strong passions, quick sensibility, lofty sentiment, powerful 
reason, were the foundation of his oratory, as they are of all true 
eloquence. Passion, feeling, reason, wit, poured forth from his 
lips in a torrent so strong and inexhaustible, as to whirl away 
his hearers for a time in despite of their opinions. Nor should 
it be forgotten, slight and unimportant as physical qualities may 
appear in our estimate of the mighty dead, that his were emi- 
nently fitted for the orator. A tall, slender, erect person, chang- 
ing under the excitement of speech its loose flaccidity of muscle 
into the most vigorous and nerved energy; an eye small, indeed, 
but deep and bonnily set, and flaming with expression; and last 
and most important of all, a voice deep, powerful, mellow and 
rich, beyond expression — rich is a feeble phrase to express its 
round, articulate fullness, rolling up with the sublime swell of 
the organ — all these together formed wonderful aids to eloquence, 
and his great and numerous triumphs attest their power. He had 
the true mesmeric stroke of the orator — the power to infuse his 
feelings into his hearers; to make them think as he thought, and 
feel as he felt. No one can form any adequate conception of his 
eloquence, who has not heard Mr. Clay when his blood was up, 
and the tide of inspiration rolling full upon him. 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 327 

/His words might indeed be written down ; but the flame of 
mind which sent them forth red-hot and blazing from its mint, 
could not be conveyed by letters. As well attempt to paint the 
lightning. The crooked, angular line may be traced, but the 
glare and the flame and the roar and the terror and the electric 
flash are gone. Stormy, vehement and tempestuous as were his 
passions and his oratorj', there was still underneath them all a 
cool stream of reason, running through the bottom of his brain, 
which always pointed him to his object, and held him to his 
course. No passions so stormy ever left their possessor so 
watchful of his objects. Reason held the helm while passiou ) 
blew the g&lej J 

As a debater, it would not be just to say that Mr. Clay held 
the same rank ; at least it may be said with justice, that in all 
the walks of debate he was not equally eminent. He was able 
everywhere j and it is but gentle criticism to sa}^ that in some 
trains of thought he did not shine forth with the power and lus- 
tre which marked his eloquence. It appears to me, after a criti- 
cal study of his speeches, that he discussed facts with as much 
power as any of his greatest rivals. It appears to me, also, that 
he fell beneath some of them in the discussion of principles. 
One of the greatest of his compeers taunted him once in the S[eu- 
ate with an inability to analyze abstruse subjects. The taunt 
was made stronger, probably, by anger, than truth or candor 
could warrant ; yet it seems to me to have been partially just. No 
one who studies Mr. Clay's arguments upon points oi political econ- 
omy, can avoid perceiving how rarely he analyzes the principle 
involved. We see a vast array of facts, many keen and thought- 
ful remarks about the results of the measure, but an analysis of 
its principle is scared}' ever attempted. He doubtless under- 
stood the protective tariff' system better than he did any other 
subject in the range of political economy ; and no one can read 
his speeches upon that question without being struck with this 
feature. It is still more marked whenever he discusses the 
subject of finance. A philosophic discussion of a principle, in- 
dependent of the practical condition of things, is never to be 
found in his speeches ; and in this he presented a most pointed 
contrast to his great rival, who so short a time preceded him to 
the grave. It may be said that this was the result of imperfect 
education, and the barely hastj' study which a busy, stirring life 
enabled him to bestow upon abstruse subjects ; but the better 
opinion seems to be that he was eminently a practical man, and 
the bent of his genius called him away from the metaphysics of 
politics. 

Mr. Clay was undoubtedly a far greater man than the Scotch 
economist, Adam Smith ; yet it is not probable that any extent 
of education, or any amount of labor, or any length of study, 
would have enabled him to write Adam Smith's book. Yet was 
he a very great debater, also. 



328 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

^one of his compeers arrayed facts more skillfullj^ — none 
urged them with so much power. He had not the compact, clean- 
cut, sententious brevity which marked some of those the public 
ranked as his equals; on the contrary, without being diffuse, he 
abounded in episodes ; he introduced much matter bearing upon 
his point, certainly, but bearing upon it indirectly — not unfre- 
quentJy, also, introducing matter which did not much help the 
question on hand. He abounded in the argumenium ad hominum, 
in personal appeal, in sarcasm^ with much of personal allusion 
and circumstantial explanation, often carrying him away from 
his subject for some time, to which, however, he always returned 
at precisely the point where he had left it. 

It is difficult among the great masters of oratory and debate 
to select one whom he closely resembled. It is not probable 
that he had ever studied any of them closely; and even had he 
done 80, the originality of his genius and the intense pride of 
his haughty temper would have prevented him from stooping to 
select a model. If he resembled any of them, he did not know 
it, and he would have cared as little to abolish the points of re- 
semblance as to make them. To Demosthenes, to whom he has 
often been compared, he bore a likeness in his passion, his in- 
tensitj', and in his occasional want of logic; but he was utterly 
unlike him in other respects. He had none of his terseness, his 
nakedness, and the straight-forward, unhalting directness with 
which he dashed on to his end. To Cicero he bore no resem- 
blance whatever. Among the eminent English speakers it would 
be almost as difficult to trace with him a parallel in any consid- 
erable degree exact or close. The profound philosophy of Burke, 
with his gorgeous, lurid and golden language, rolling on with 
the pomp and power of an army blazing with banners, he in no 
degree approached. Sheridan's bright and pungent fctyle, glit- 
tering with antithesis and point, was equally unlike him. 

I am inclined to think that of all the speakers I have read, 
though with less of logic and wit, and more of passion, ho most 
resembled Charles Fox. The same rigid adherence actually to 
his point, even when seeming to be awaj' from it; the same 
abundance and exuberance of matter; the same gladiatorial 
struggle to strike down his opponent, though the victory might 
slightly affect the question involved; the same felicitous blend- 
ing of passion and logic, with sparkles of sarcasm and personality 
spangling the whole — all produced strong points of resemblance, 
not to be traced with any other orator. 

To all these eminent merits as a speaker was united a pro- 
found knowledge of men, of their motives, and of their weak- 
nesses. Though it may be that in the early part of his life, he 
had learned but little from books, yet amid the frank, bold and 
reckless pioneers which formed Kentucky's early population, 
where this man stood forth in all the originality and nakedness 
of his nature, and amid the stormy scenes of the hustings in 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIP/'I. 3i9 

in which he was early plunged, he had gained that quick insight 
into the human heart, which in practical life goes farther to at- 
tempt success than reams of reading. He knew men thoroughly, 
and not only knew how, but possessed the magnetic power to 
bend them to his purposes. 

There is probablj' no position in life which requires such a 
combination of rare and high qualities as that of a great popu- 
lar leader. He must be bold and prudent, prompt and patient, 
stern and conciliating, captivating, commanding, far-seeing, and 
above all, brave to perfection. The first man in the nation, the 
first in power, undoubtedly, whatever may be his place, is the 
leader of the administration, be he in Congress or in the Cabi- 
net, President, or private. The leader of the opposition can 
hardly be called the second man in rank or power, but if his 
party be strong and struggling, his position is one of great 
strength, and enables him, though out of the government, to 
strongly affect it in the direction of the affairs of the nation. 
One of these attitudes Mr. Clay held throughout the greater 
part, and all the latter portion of his life. He led the adminis- 
tration partj' under Mr. Madison's presidency, throughout the 
trying scenes of the war, and upon him fell the brunt of that 
fierce Congressional struggle. When the cowardice of some 
commanders and the incapacity of all of them in the commence- 
ment of the war, had about a series of shameful disasters, which 
made every American blush for the country, Henry Clay stood 
forth in advance of all to encourage, to console, and to roiise 
his countrymen to renewed efforts. Defeats, disasters, blunders 
and shame hung heavy upon the partj^ in power and disheart- 
ened its followers, while the eloquent chiefs of the opposition 
poured forth a tempest of invective,, denunciation, and ridicule 
against the feeble and futile efforts, in which the honor of the 
nation was sullied, and its strength lost. But the fiercer roared 
the storm, the sterner and higher pealed forth his trumpet voice 
to rally his broken forces, and marshal them anew for the strug- 
gle. To Henry Clay, far in front of all others, that administra- 
tion owed its support through the trying scenesof that bitter con- 
test. 

He aiterwards led the opposition through the terms of Jack- 
son, Van Buren and Tyler. The unexampled dexterity, skill, 
patience, firmness and hardihood with which, in spite of repeat- 
ed defeats, he still maintained the war, must excite unmixed 
admiration in all who may study his career. 

Courage is a high quality — courage, perfect, multiform and 
unquenchable, one of the highest and rarest. Of all moral qual- 
ities, it is the most essential to a great popular leader, most 
especially the leader of an opposition ; and with that glorious 
gift nature had endowed Mr. Clay to extremity. There was no 
political responsibility which he ever avoided to take; there was 
no personal peril which he ever shunned to dare ; there was no 



330 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

van in the opposing party which he ever failed to strike. His 
heart never tailed him in any extremitj'. He met every crisis 
promptly and at once, and in this he bore a remarkable contrast 
to almost every other politician of the age; none of his contem- 
poraries approached hira, in this bold, unhesitating promptness, 
but the man of his destinj^, his great rival, Jackson, with whom, 
in so many other points, so close a parallel might be traced. In 
democracies, where the will of the people must be the ultimate 
law of the land, an uncertainty as to their decision is apt to in- 
duce politicians to wait and watch for indications of the prob- 
able result. The timid time-server will fear to move; he will 
fear to take ground upon any question until some gleams of light 
break out from the mass of the people to show him the probable 
path of safety. Fears, misgivings, uncertainty as to his per- 
sonal interest keep him silent and still, while the masses stum- 
ble onward to their decision without the light of a leader. But 
no faint-hearted doubts ever clouded his bright eye, when bold 
Henry Clay was in the field. Like the white plume of Murat, 
amid the smoke and the roar and the turmoil of battle his loily 
crest was ever glittering in the van for the rally of his host. He 
waited for no indications of popularity, for he received his in- 
spirations from his own clear head and dauntless heart. His 
convictions were so strong, his self-confidence so unbounded, his 
will so indomitable, his genius so grand and lofty, that he seemed 
to bear, stamped upon his brow, nature's patent to command. 
He moved among his partisans with an imperial, never-doubting, 
overpowering air of authority, which few were able to resist. He 
tolerated no insubordination. Oppositioi\ seemed to him to be 
rebellion, and to obey or quit the camp, death or tribute was his 
motto, and he rarely failed to force obedience. Though the 
powerful rally which was made against him among his associates 
in 1840 and 1848, when fortune furnished the weapon to strike, 
exposed how much of secret dislike his despotic will had banded 
against him, j^et it was generally beaten down to submission. 
His ablest and haughtiest comrades would, in general, sullenly 
obey. "Willing to wound, but yet afraid to strike." When in 
1832, he wheeled short upon his footsteps with his compromise 
bill upon the tariff, he carried with him the great bulk of his 
partisans in Congress, and the whole of them in the country, 
though directly committed to the support of that measure. In 
1825, he carried with him his friends from Ohio, Missouri and 
Kentucky, for Mr. Adams, against General Jackson, though with 
that vote political destruction loomed up darkly in their front. 
Nor was it necessary that the question should be in his path to 
make him meet it. He spoke out bold and free on all points in 
front or around him, far or near. In 1825, he was Secretary of 
State, and not necessarily involved in the ephemeral domestic 
politics of his State. Kentucky was boiling like a mighty caul- 
dron upon the subject of her relief laws. True to his nature, 
Mr. Clay spoke out clear and strong in behalf of justice and 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 331 

Bound policy against the current of an overwhelming majority. 
Under the same circumstances he took the same responsibility 
two years afterwards, upon the question of the old and new 
courts. This unhesitating and honest audacity necessarily en- 
tailed upon him many temporary disasters, but he always came 
up again fresh and strong. Like the fabled wrestler of anti- 
quity, he rose from his mother earth stronger in his rebound than 
before his fall. 

Overwhelmed with calumny, he encountered a defeat in 1828 
which would have broken the heart and blighted the fame of any 
other popular leader in the nation. Even Kentucky, the last 
covert of the hunted stag, was beaten from his grasp ; yet he still 
made head, banded his broken forces, and four years afterwards, 
again met his destiny in the same man. He encountered a defeat 
terrible and overwhelming, yet he stood under it erect and lofty 
as a tower. He had now left the retirement, from whence as a 
general he had marshaled his array, and had come down into the 
arena of the halls of Congress to strike, as well as order. And 
in the tremendous struggles of those stormy sessions, the battle 
of the giants, most gloriously did he lead the assault. It is in- 
spiring to see how manfully he upheld the day. The repeated 
disasters which had crushed the hope and cowed the spirit of his 
partisans, broke vainly upon his haughty front. Defiance, stern 
and high, blazed in every feature, and war to the knife in every 
word. It was a brave sight to see how gallantly he would dash 
into the melee, deal his crashing blows right and left among Van 
Buren, Benton, Forsyth and Wright; trample the wretched curs 
of party into the dust beneath his feet, and strike with all his 
strength full at the towering crest of Jackson. 

Nor was it only in the bold and stern qualities of the party 
leader that he excelled ; he could be winning and gentle too. 
While there was any hope of winning an opponent to the sup- 
port of a measure, no man was more conciliating; while his par- 
tisans would obey, no man was more kind and gentle ; and his 
high-strung nature rendered his courtesy more attractive than 
the most dexterous flattery of other men. As instances of this 
skill, I may mention that he twice carried through his land bill 
against a dead majority in both houses ; that he carried through 
his Missouri compromise, when at first the effort seemed hope- 
less ; and that he won a passage for his bank bills in 1832 and 
1841, with a minority of supporters in the first instance, and 
with an uncertain, hesitating, unreliable majority in the last. 

He was patient, too, and could bide his time. In 1840, intes- 
tine commotion first appeared in his party, and he first met for- 
midable and organized resistance to his will. He had for years 
fought out every campaign as the leader of the opposition ; his 
tactics had been brilliant, dextrous and admirable. The party in 
power was broken down, and he thought he saw himself close 
upon the long delayed fruition of all his hopes. The bright 
crown of glory which had so long glittered before his eyes, but 



332 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

to elude his grasp, was now within his reach. But another was 
selected to wear, when he had won it. Another was chosen to 
reap the harvest, which he had worked and watched and tended. 
Then, for the first time, he met, what he felt to be, rebellion in 
his camp. Then, for the first time, he saw his standard deserted. 
His own appreciation of the services he had rendered his party, 
was strong and intense, and under so crushing a blow, a fiery, 
impetuous man might be expected to commit some imprudence. 
Doubtless his heart beat thick with a sense of injustice, and his 
blood boiled with resentment. Yet he betrayed nothing ol it, at 
least, not in public. The great party leader knew how to bide 
his time. He bowed gracefully to the decision, threw himself 
cordially into the movement, and was still the recognized chief 
of the host which mustered under the banner of another. His 
was the power behind the throne, greater than the throne itself. 
Four years afterwards, he reaped the fruit of his prudence and 
his patience. He was supported with zeal and unanimity by 
those who had before struck him down, and certainly nothing 
but the mine which was so suddenly sprung beneath his feet pre- 
vented his triumph. After a close and most desperate struggle he 
fell again, and apparently forever. Yet, even after this apparently 
final blow, another effort was made, which most strikingly illus- 
trates his character, and displayed upon a broad ground his 
prodigious power over men, and his buoyant, confident, sanguine, 
unbreakable spirit. When he was struck down in 1844, it seemed 
that his race was run. His defeats had been so numerous and 
continued, he had been so long in the public eye, he was so far 
advanced in years, the rivals of his middle age, Adams, Jackson, 
Crawford, had all passed away, and he seemed to be of a former 
generation. The public heart felt that his career was closed. 
The old make way for the young, and a new race had arisen. 

Taylor's victories had arrested the public mind, and the vet- 
eran statesman of Ashland was forgotten ; yet he attempted to 
stem the tide of victory in the very fullness of its power. 
His control over men was so prodigious, he bestirred himself so 
vigorously, he struck so hard and true to his mark, that with 
most of his close friends directly committed against him, and in 
spite of the general sense of the public, he scarcely failed to 
win. None but a spirit as dauntless as his own would have 
dared the struggle. None but a power so great could have made it. 

As a statesman, undoubtedly Mr. Clay was entitled to the very 
highest rank among all his contemporaries. It had been gener- 
ally conceded that his learning was not profound or various. Of 
science, in its limited sense, he knew but little, and of the lighter 
and less important branches of study and accomplishment, still 
less. It is said that he cared nothing for literature, had never 
searched deeply into history ; and it is remarkable, that though 
at one time a minister abroad, and for four years Secretary of 
State, in constant relations and intercourse with foreign envoys 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 333 

of every nation, he spoke no language but his own. But he 
knew thoroughly that which it most imported him most to know. 
He was profoundly versed in the theory and practices of our own \, 
government, and in a knowledge of the powers of each branch 
of it. He knew intimately and to the bottom, the connection, 
political and commercial, of America with all other nations. He 
knew perfectly the relation which each part of the country bore -^ 
to the other, and he understood profoundly the character, genius 
and wants of the American people. There was nothing sectional 
in his policy. His broad and comprehensive genius held in its 
vision the interest of the whole nation, and his big American 
heart throbbed for it all. He was intensely American in all his 
thoughts and all his feelings. To cherish the interest and the 
glory, and to build up the power of his countiy, and his whole 
country, was the aim of all his policy, and the passion of his 
life. No candid reader, who may study his career, can deny, 
that on all great occasions he was not only purely patriotic, but 
eminently self-sacrificing. Far brighter examples of this patri- 
otic spirit will at once occur to all who are familiar with his ca- 
reer ; but at this moment I will only allude to the instances in 
which he took ground upon Kentucky State politics, which I 
cited as examples of his unhesitating boIdness,when I was discuss- 
ing his character as a party leader. Like all other true states- 
men, his ideas were all relative, not absolute. He was in no degree 
a man of one idea. He was not wedded peremptorily and at all 
hazards, to any measure or any principle. 

He understood the policy of a nation, not as a fixed mathe- 
matical theorem, where under all circumstances and at all times, 
every result but one must be wrong; but as a practical science of 
fitting measures to the occasion, to necessity, and to the times. 
The best practical good which could be secured was his aim, and 
under some circumstances he would maintain, what, under a dif- 
ferent condition of affairs, he would oppose. Without discuss- 
ing the philosophical soundness of his political economy, or the 
correctness of all his measures, it may be stated with truth, that 
in them all, he looked to the integrity and independence, polit- 
ical and commercial, of the nation. The energy of his support 
of it, gave to him the rank of the champion of the protective 
tariff policy, though it was established before he came into po- 
litical life ; and his arguments in its favor, principally turn upon 
the maintenance of the commercial independence of the coun- 
try. Yet, he was not wedded to it; and when its continuance 
menaced danger to the country, he himself led the way in pull- 
ing it down. The monument to his memory upon the Cumber- 
land road bears testimony to his efforts in behalf of national 
works of internal improvement. He was also the author of some 
important, and of some great and vital measures. He originated 
the scheme for the distribution among. the States of the public 
lands; he was the author of the Missouri compromise, and of 



334 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

the adjustment of the last stormy agitation of the slavery sub- 
ject. These three measures were his own. They were struck off 
in the mint of his own mind. The first of these measures must 
be criticised, both as the movement of a party leader and a states- 
man, and with regard to the condition of things at the time, to 
understand its real merit, and to deal justice to its author. 
Shortly alter the revolution, in the magnanimous spirit of that 
immortal age, the States ceded the lands to the general govern- 
ment, as a security for the payment of the national debt. That 
debt was nearly satisfied when Mr. Clay's measure was devised, 
and the treasurj'^ was overflowing with revenue. It was the 
general sense of all parties, that the land should be withdrawn 
from the current support of the general government; and Con- 
gress was overrun with schemes to squander it. Some of the 
States asserted the monstrous heresy of a title hold to all within 
their limits, by right of their sovereignty. Propositions for 
giants to States, companies and individuals were rile in each 
hall, and probably by no other movement would it have been 
possible to rescue and preserve, for the benefit of the Union, that 
immense fund from squandering dissipation. Considered with- 
out reference to the schemes of abandonment, which it was nec- 
essary to oppose, the measure does not appear to be founded on 
philosophical soundness and policy. In the United States we 
have two circles of government, with a common constituency. 
The State and Federal governments are organs of the same peo- 
ple. They have separate and distinct powers, different circles 
and measures of authority and action, but a common and the 
same constituency. Both governments are mere abstractions, 
while the living, breathing power is the people and the same 
people. The same men are citizens of one government and the 
other. The same people bear the burden, pay the revenue and 
enjoy the benefits of them both. Both governments are ideal exis- 
tences, artificial organs of one common master. Therefore, 
it does not appear, when abstractly considered, to be sound or 
philosophical statesmanship, to give to the people, through one 
organ, a portion of the public revenue, when the same people 
will be compelled to pay it back again, in a different shape to 
the other. It seems to be shifting a treasure from one pocket to 
the other, with some loss on the passage. 

But considered as a movement to prevent that great fund from 
being squandered, it was the stroke of a statesman, and as the 
tactics of a party leader the conception was most dextrous. 
The country was upon the eve of a Presidential election, and the 
disposition of the land fund was to the candidates a most peril- 
ous and embarrassing question. Mr. Claj^'s opponents in the 
Senate, constituting a majority, determined to complicate him 
with the subject, and in spite of the remonstrances and votes of 
himself and his friends, they referred it to the Committee upon 
Manufactures, of which he was chairman, the last Committee in 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 335 

the House to which the subject was appropriate and germain. 
This disposal ot the subject, unjust as it was, compelled him to 
take it up. If he favored the proposition to cede the lands to 
the new States, he disgusted the old. If he opposed it, he 
offended the new. But the invention of the old party leader 
came to his rescue, and as his return blow, he conceived the 
counterstroke ot a distribution among all the States. 

On the two other great occasions, when sectional excitement 
shook the Union to its centre, to which I have referred, he ap- 
peared as a mediator. He was the author of the Missouri Com- 
promise, and of the adjustment measures of the stormy session 
of 1850. The completely relative cast of all his political ideas, 
the total absence from his character of fanaticism upon any 
opinion of principle, eminently fitted him for a mediator, and 
upon all dangerous questions he always acted that part. When- 
ever conflicting interests or opinions menaced the integrity of 
the Union, he stood forth as the harbinger and the champion of 
peace and conciliation. He saw the wretched condition of the 
miserable little republics of South America, feeble, demoralized 
and contemptible at war with each other, trampled upon by 
every European power, and despised by the world ; he was a 
member of a great nation ; he loved his country, and his whole 
country, from North to South, from the big lakes to the gulf, 
from ocean to ocean, from the sunHse to the sunset, and every 
feeling of his heart, every thought of his brain revolted at dis- 
memberment. It is enough to say, in eulogy of those measures, 
and it should immortalize the great statesman who conceived 
them, that both the great divisions of the American people have 
adopted them both, as a part of their political creed. 

Doubtless some portion of his influe^ice in the adjustment of 
those perilous questions arose from the entirely moderate and 
conservative character of his opinions upon that subject, and 
from the peculiarity of his position. He was a native and a 
representative of a slave State ; he had never lived anywhere 
else ; and while unflinchingly true, at all times and upon all 
points, to the rights of the Southern States, yet he considered 
slavery as a great though unavoidable evil. But he was in 
no degree impassioned and blinded in regard to it. He looked 
at the subject calmly and without exaggeration ; not through 
the magnifying glass of religious fanaticism or distorted philan- 
thropy, but with the calm eye of a practical statesman. He 
maintained the policy of gradual emancipation on both occasions 
that the subject was agitated in Kentucky, openly and vigor- 
ously; contending that the great numerical preponderance of the 
whites over the blacks in that State rendered their gradual eman- 
cipation and removal safe and easilj'^ attainable. At the same 
time he always declared that he considered all such schemes to 
be utterly impracticable in the planting States; and if a citizen 
of one of them, would oppose them all, because the numbers of 
the blacks would render their removal impossible, and their con- 



336 HISTORY OF Mississippi. 

tinual presence disadvantageous and perilous to the whites. He 
favored emancipation in Kentucky, while farther South he de- 
clared he considered it utterly impracticable. These views he 
urged and amplified at length, not only in the discussion of the 
question in his own State, but also in the United States Sen- 
ate, while discussing the reception ol petitions for the abolition 
of slavery in the District of Columbia. This position might 
also be referred to, as another illustration of the practical 
and completely relative character of all his political ideas. 
Doubtless, as an abstract proposition, considered without refer- 
ence to its inevitable existence, or the perilous consequences of 
its cessation, he was opposed to slavery; for liberty was the pas- 
sion of his life. His own country, and his own countrymen, 
were the first and the principal objects in his thoughts and in his 
heart ; but his broad and extended philanthropy embraced the 
world. Even the degraded African slave, separated from his own 
race by a wide and impassable gulf, found in him a well-wisher to 
his moral and mental elevation., when it could occur safely in a 
different land and in another clime. Wherever abroad, freedom 
found a votary, that votary found in him a champion. When 
Greece, the classic land of Greece — the fountain of refinement, 
the birthplace of eloquence and poetry and liberty — when 
Greece awoke from the long slumber of ages, and beat back the 
fading crescent to its native east — when Macedon at last called 
to mind the feats of her conquering boy, and the Spartan again 
struck for the land which had bred him, in Henry Claj^'s voice 
the words of cheering rolled over the blue waters, from the far 
west, as the greeting of the new world to the old. When 
Mexico, and our sister republics of the extreme South, shoek off 
the x'ottedyoke of the fallen Spaniard, and freedom's face for one 
brief moment gleamed under the pale light of the Southern 
cross, it was he who spoke out again to cheer and to rouse its 
champions. The regenerated Greek, the dusky Mexican, the 
Peruvian mountaineer, all, who would strike one blow for 
liberty, found in him a friend and an advocate. His words of 
cheering swept over the plains of Marathon and came ringing 
back from the peaks of the Andes. But that voice is now stilled, 
and his bright eye closed forever. He has gone from our midst, 
and the wailing of grief which rose from the nation, and the 
plumage of mourning which shrouded its cities, its halls and its 
altars, attest his countrymen's sense of their loss. He has gone, 
and gone in glory. From us rises the dirge ; with him floats the 
pean of triumph. 

By a beautiful decree and poetical justice of destiny, it was 
fated that the last effort of the Union's great champion should 
be made in behalf of the Union, in its last great extremity. He 
passed off" the stage as became the Great Pacificator. His dying 
eff'ort was worthy of, and appropriate to him. When the foun- 
taius of the great deep of the public mind were broken up, and 
the fierce passions of sectional animosity tore over it, as the 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 337 

storms sweep over the ocean, it was from his voice that tlie 
words of soothing came forth, ''Peace, be still/' 

It was his last battle, and the gallant veteran fought it out 
with the power and the fire of his prime. The expiring light of 
life, though flickering in its last beams, blazed up to the fullness 
of its meridian lustre. There was no fading away of intellect, 
or gradual decaj^ of body. Minds like his, and souls so fiery, are 
cased in frames of steel, and when they fall at last, they fall at once. 

The Union was not compelled to blush for the decay of the 
Union's great champion. Age had not crumbled the stately dig- 
nity of his form, nor reduced his manly intellect to the imbe- 
cility of a second childhood. He faded away into no feeble 
twilight; he sunk down to no dim sunset — but sprang out of life 
in the bright blaze of meridian fullness. 

He passed down into the valley ot the shadow of death with 
all his glory unclouded, with all his laurels fresh and greeu 
around him. Not a spot obscures the lustre of his crest; not a 
sprig has been torn from his chaplet. 

"The dead Douglass has won the field." His dying ear rung 
with the applause of his country, and the hosannas of a nation's 
gratitude. Death has given to him the empire in the hearts of 
his countrymen, not fully granted to the living man— and 
although it was not decreed that the first honors of the nation 
should await him, its last blessings will cluster around his name. 

His memory needs no monument. He wants no mausoleum of 
stone or marble to imprison his sacred dust. Let him rest amid 
the tokens of the freedom he so much loved. Let him sleep on, 
where the whistling of the tameless winds, the ceaseless roll of 
the murmuring waters, the chirping of the wild bird, and all 
which speaks of liberty, may chant his eternal lullaby. Peace be 
with thy soul, Henry Clay ; may the earth lie light upon you, and 
the undying laurel of glory grow green over thy grave. 

[As an evidence of the genius of Col. McClung, his "Invocation to Death'' is 
here subjoined, and remembering that he died by his own hand in the |une of 
life, it will be read with melancholy interest by his early friends who still linger 
upon the shores of time:] 

INVOCATION TO DEATH. 

Swiftly speed o'er the wastes of time, 

Spirit ot death ! 
, • In manhood's morn, in youthful prime, 

I woo thy breath ! 
For the glittering hues of hope are fled 

Like the dolphin's light, 
And dark are the clouds above my head 

As the starless night. 
O I vainly the mariner sighs for the rest 

Of the peaceful haven, 
The pilgrim saint lor the shrines of the blest. 

The calm of heaven ; 
The galley slave for the night wind's breath, 

At burning noon, 
But more gladly I'd spring to thy arms, Oh, death ! 
22 Come soon ! Come soon ! 



338 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

Nothing more notable occurred during the administra- 
tion of Governor Foote than the passage of an act submit- 
ting the question to the people whether they should or 
should not repudiate the bonds of the State, the proceeds 
of which had been used to pay for the stock subscribed 
for and owned by the State in the Planters' Bank. This 
was in the first year of his term, and the question was 
presented to the people at the presidential election of that 
year, and as a matter of course, the people, ever anxious 
to avoid taxation, repudiated the debt which had been 
unanimously pronounced by the Senate as a legal and 
binding obligation, and to meet the payment of which the 
faith of the State had repeatedly been solemnly pledged. 
No public official had ever been bold enough to deny the 
validity of the bonds issued and sold for the payment of 
stock owned by the State in the Planters' Bank, and the 
repudiation of those bonds must ever be regarded as an 
act of bad faith on the part of the people, and was so re- 
garded at the time by hundreds of the most intelligent and 
prominent men in the State. 

The only other incident worthy of note occurring during 
the gubernatorial service of Governor Foote, was the decis- 
ion of the High Court of Errors and Appeals affirming the 
validity of the issuance and sale of the bonds of Missis- 
sippi, sold to raise money with which to pay for the stock 
owned by the State in the Union Bank. The court was 
unanimous and the opinion was clear and emphatic that 
the State was justly indebted to the holders of the bonds, 
and that it was proper that these bonds should be paid, but 
the decision of the court was not worth the paper on which 
it was written, for no penny of the amount due has been 
paid to this day, and not a single dollar will ever be paid 
on those bonds. 

In the first year of the administration of Governor Foote, 
Louis Kossuth, the great ex-Governor of Hungary, visited 
the Capital of Mississippi. Governor Foote, who had met 
and known Kossuth in Washington, called on, and enter- 
tained him at an elaborate dinner at the executive man- 
sion, where he was met by a dozen or more prominent and 
distinguished gentlemen of the city of Jackson. 

At the close of his term, in January, 1853, Governor 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 339 

Foote removed to California. He remained there several 
years but finally returned to his old home. He soon after- 
wards married a Nashville lady, and resumed the practice 
of law in that city. He was elected to the Confederate 
Congress as a representative from that district, where he 
served until near the close of the war. 

He died in New Orleans, May 20, 1880, while holding the 
office of Superintendent of the United States Mint of that 
city, an office which had been conferred upon him bv 
President Grant. 



THE ADMINISTRATION OF GOVERNOR MCREA. 

John J. McRae, a native of Wayne county, Mississippi, 
was elected to the position of Governor in November,' 
1853, and was installed in office in January, 1854, thus 
becoming the fourteenth Governor of the commonwealth, 
and the ninth chosen under the Constitution of 1832. 

Mr. McRae had represented his county in both branches 
of the legislature previous to his induction into the office 
of chief executive of the State, and his administration was 
so satisfactory to the people that he was re-elected in 
November, 1855, for a second term. 

Before he was chosen as chief magistrate, he had been ap- 
pointed in the autumn of 1851 to succeed Jefferson Davis, 
who had resigned his seat in the United States Senate when 
he became the candidate of his party for the office of Gov- 
ernor in that year. Mr. McRae served nearly two months 
as a Senator and until his successor appeared in Washing- 
ton. 

At the expiration of his second term as Governor he was 
elected to the National House of Representatives to fill the 
vacancy occasioned by the death of General John A. Quit- 
man, and was re-elected for the succeeding term, where he 
served until the 12th day of January, 1861, when'he retired 
from Congress in company with the entire delegation from 
the State, and returned to his home. 

When the Confederate States government was estab- 
lished, the ex-Governor became a representative in that 
body, where he served until the close of the war. Whan 



340 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

the end came, saddened and disappointed at the result, in 
utter dispair, he abandoned the State where he had been 
honored, and emigrated to British Honduras, where he 
soon sickened and died. 

John J. McRae was universally esteemed by all who 
knew him, as a genial, generous and frank gentleman. 
His fine social qualities made him a general favorite, and 
his undeviating courtesy to all men added immensely to 
his popularity ; and when information of his death on a 
foreign strand — an exile among strangers — far from his 
native Mississippi, reached his former home, a pang of 
regret pressed heavily upon the hearts of every man and 
woman who had ever known the genial and warm-hearted 
ex-Governor McRae. 



THE ADMINISTRATION OF GOVERNOR MCWILLIE. 

William Mc Willie, born in Kershaw district. South 
Carolina, November 17th, 1795, migrated to Mississippi in 
1845, was elected Governor in November, 1857, and was 
inducted into office in January, 1858, thus becoming the 
fifteenth chief magistrate of the commonwealth, and the 
tenth chosen under the Constitution of 1832. 

There was nothing particularly striking that occurred 
during the administration of Governor Mc Willie. He was 
always regarded as a gentleman of education and honor, 
and four years after he made his home in Mississippi he was 
nominated and elected to Congress, where he served from 
December, 1849, to March 4th, 1851. He was nominated in 
1851, by the wing of his party pledged to "resistance" to the 
compromise measures incident to the admission of Califor- 
nia, and he was borne down and defeated by the cyclone 
of Unionism that swept over the State in the year 1851. 

After retiring at the end of his gubernatorial term with 
the confidence and respect of all the people of the State 
the Governor never again held official position. He was 
universally respected for his manly qualities, lofty bearing, 
generous hospitality and the purity of his life, and died 
peacefully at his home in Madison county, March 3d, 1869, 
in the 74th year of his age. 



CHAPTER XVI. 



THE ADMINISTRATION OF GOVERNOR PETTUS. 

JOHN J. Pettus, born, it is believed, in Alabama, came 
to Mississippi when a young man. He settled in 
Kemper county, which he represented in both branches of 
the Legislature. In 1859 he was nominated by the Demo- 
cratic party as its candidate for Governor. He was easily 
elected, and was inducted Into the executive office in Jan- 
uary, 1860, thus becoming the sixteenth Governor of the 
State, and the eleventh chief magistrate chosen under the 
Constitution of 1832. 

The second year of the administration of Governor Pet- 
tus was made memorable by the assembling of the Seces- 
sion Convention, a Convention directly representing the 
sovereignty of the people, and the desolating war which 
soon followed the attempted severance of the relations of 
Mississippi to the Federal Union. 

The (Convention convened at the capitol in the city of 
Jackson, on Monday, the 7th day of January, 1861, in pur- 
suance of an act of the Legislature, entitled ''an act to 
provide for a Convention of the people of the State of Mis- 
sissippi." 

The Rev. Dr. C. K. Marshall, the distinguished and elo- 
quent divine of the city of Vicksburg, opened the Conven- 
tion with prayer. Hon. Wm. S. Barry, of Lowndes, was 
elected President ; F. A. Pope, of Holmes, Secretary ; S. 
Pool, Door-keeper ; W. Ivy Westbrook, of Noxubee, Ser- 
geant-at-Arms. 

L. Q. C. Lamar offered a resolution that a committee of 
fifteen be appointed by the president to prepare and report 
as speedily as possible an ordinance for the withdrawal 
of the State Irom the Federal Union, with a view to the 
establishment of a new confederacy to be composed of the 



342 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

seceding States, upon which he moved the previous ques- 
tion. The committee consisted of the author of the resolu- 
tion, Wiley P. Harris, Samuel J. Gholson, Jas. L. Alcorn, 
Henry T. Ellett, Walker Brooke, Hugh R. Miller, John A. 
Blair, Alex. M. Clayton, Alfred Holt, Jas. Z. George, E. H. 
Sanders, Benj. King, Geo. R. Clayton and Orlando Davis. 

Mr. Lamar from the committee reported "an ordinance 
to dissolve the Union between the State of Mississippi and 
the States united with her under the compact, entitled the 
Constitution of the United States," with the recommenda- 
tion that it do pass. 

Jacob S. Yerger, of Washington, offered an amendment, 
by way of substitute, providing "for the final adjustment 
of all difficulties between the free and slave States of the 
United States, by securing further constitutional guaran- 
tees within the present Union." The substitute was lost 
by a vote of seventy-eight to twenty-one. 

Jas. L. Alcorn, of Coahoma, offered an additional sec- 
tion, that "the ordinance shall not go into effect until the 
States of Alabama, Georgia, Florida and Louisiana shall 
resolve to secede from the Union, and resume their sov- 
ereignty ;" lost by a vote of seventy-four to twenty-five. 

Walker Brooke, of Warren, offered an amendment, sub- 
mitting to the qualified electors of the State the ordinance 
for their ratification or rejection. This amendment shared 
the fate of the other two — the three resolutions receiving 
practically the same support. Those voting for them were : 
Messrs. Alcorn, Aldridge, Barksdale, Brooke, Beene, Blair, 
Bonds, Bullard, Cummings, Benson, Farrar, Flournoy, 
Herring, Hurst, Isom, Marshall, McGehee, Myers, Parker, 
Powell, Reynolds, Sanders, Sumner, Stephens, Thornton, 
Tison, Winchester, Yerger, Young. 

Mr. Lamar, from the committee, then reported the Ordi- 
nance of Secession, which was as follows : 

An Ordinance to dissolve the Union between the State of Mississippi and other 
States united with her under the compact entitled "the Constitution of the 
United States ot America." 

The people of the State of Mississippi in Convention assembled, 
do ordain and declare, and it is hereby ordained and declared 
as follows, to-wit : 

Section 1st. That all the laws and ordinances by which the 
said State of Mississippi became a member of the Federal Union 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 343 

of the United States of America be, and the same are hereby re- 
pealed, and that all obligations on the part of said State or the 
people thereof to observe the same, be withdrawn, and that the 
said State doth hereby assume all the rights, functions and 
powers which, by anj^ of said laws or ordinances, were conveyed 
to the government of the said United States, and is absolved 
from all the obligations, restraints and duties incurred to the said 
Federal Union, and shall from henceforth be a free, sovereign 
and independent State. 

Section 2d. That so much of the first section of the seventh 
article of the Constitution of this State as requires members of 
the Legislature, and all officers, executive and judicial, to take 
an oath or affirmation to support the Constitution of the United 
States, be and the same is hereby abrogated and annulled. 

Section 3d. That all rights acquired and vest*^d under the 
Constitution of the United States, or under any act of Congress 
passed, or treaty made, in pursuance thereof, or under any law 
of this State, and not incompatible with this Ordinance, shall 
remain in force, and have the same effect as if this ordinance had 
not been passed. 

Section 4. That the people of the State of Mississippi hereby 
consent to form a Federal Union with such of the States as may 
have seceded, or may secede from the Union of the United 
States of America, upon the basis of the present Constitution of 
the said United States, except such parts thereof as embrace 
other portions than such seceding States. 

Thus ordained and declared in Convention, the 9th day of 
January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and 
sixty-one. 

In testimony of the passage of which, and the determination 
of the members of this Convention to uphold and maintain the 
State in the position she has assumed by said Ordinance, it is 
signed by the President and members of this Convention this, 
the fifteenth day of Januarj", A. D., 186L" 

Wm, S. Barry, President. 
Adams — A. K. Farrar, Chickasaw — J. A. Orr, 

Josiah Winchester. C. B. Baldwin. 

Attala — E. H. Sanders. Covington — A. C. Powell. 

Amite — David W. Hurst. Calhoun — W, A. Sumner, 

Bolivar — Miles H. McGehee. M. D. L. Stephens. 

Carroll — James Z. George, DeSoto — J. E. Chalmers, 
William Booth. S. D. Johnston, 

Claiborne— H. T. EUett. T. Lewers. 

Coahoma — J. L. Alcorn. Franklin — D. H. Parker. 

Copiah — P. S. Catchings, Greene — T. J. Roberts. 

Benjamin King. Hinds — Wiley P. Harris, 

Clarke — S. H. Terral. W. P. Anderson, 

Choctaw— W. F. Brantley, W. B. Smart. 

W. H. Witty, Holmes—J. M. Dyer, 

J. H. Edwards. W. L. Keirn. 



344 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 



Harrison — D. C. Glenn. 
Hancock — J. B. Deason. 
Issaquena — A. C. Gribson. 
Itawamba — E. O. Beene, 

A. B. Bullard, 

W. H. H. Tison, 

M. C. Cummings. 
Jasper — O. C. Dease. 
jACKSoif — A. B. Lewis. 
Jefferson — J. S. Johnston. 
Jones — J. H. Powell. 
Kemper — O. Z. Neely 

Thomas H. Woods. 
Lawrence — W. Gwin. 
Lowndes — (leorge R. Clayton. 
Leake— W. B. Colbert. 
Lauderdale — J. B. Eamsey, 
F. C. Semmes. 
Lafayette — L. Q. C. Lamar, 

T. D. Isom. 
Marshall — A. M. Clayton, 

J. W. Clapp, 

S. Benton^ 

H. W. Walter, 

W. M. Lea. 
Madison — A. P. Hill. 
Monroe — S. J. Ciholson, 

F. M. Rodgers. 
Marion — H. Mayson. 
Noxubee — Israel Welsh. 
Neshoba — D. M. Backstrora. 
Newton — M. M. Keith. 
Oktibbeha — T. C. Bookter. 
Perry — P. Y. Myers. 

The Ordinance of Secession, as reported by Mr. Lamar» 
was passed b}'^ a vote of 84 to 15. Those voting against it 
were Messrs. Blair, Bonds, Bullard, Cummings, Farrar, 
Hurst, Myers, Marshall, Parker, Reynolds, Sanders, Thorn- 
ton, Winchester, Yerger and Young. 

Every member of the Convention except Dr. J. J. Thorn- 
ton, of Rankin county, signed the ordinance as enrolled. 

Of the one hundred and thirty four delegates who com- 
posed the Convention of 1890, there are six who were dele- 
gates to the Secession Convention of IfcOl, to-wit : Sena- 
tor J. Z. George and Colonel J. A. Blair, from the State at 
large ; Ex-Grovernor J. L. Alcorn, from Coahoma ; Judge 



Pike — J. M. Nelson. 
Panola — J. B. Fizor, 

E. T. McGehee. 
Pontotoc — C. D. Fontaine, 
J. B. Herring, 
H. R. Miller, 
R. W. Flournoy. 
Rankin — Wm. Denson. 
Sunflower — E. P. Jones. 
Simpson — W. J. Douglas. 
Smith — W. Thompson. 
Scott— C. W. Taylor. 
Tallahatchie — A. Pattisom 
Tishomingo — A. E. Reynolds, 
W. W. Bonds, 
T. P. Young, 
J, A.Blair. 
Tunica — A. Miller. ' 
Tippah — ^^O. Davis, 

J. H. Berry, ^ 
J. S. Davis, 
D. B. Wright. 
Washington — J. S. Yerger. 
WiLltlNSON— A. C. Holt. 
Wayne_W. J. Eckford. 
Warren — Walker Brooke, 

Thomas A. Marshall. 
Winston — J. Kennedy, 

W. S. Boiling, 
Yalobusha — F. M. Aldridge, 

W. R. Barksdale. 
Yazoo — H. Vaughn, 

G. B. Wilkinson. 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 345 

Wiley P. Harris, of Hinds; Dr. W. L. Keirn, of Holmes, 
and Dr. T. D. Isom, of Lafayette. 

On the third day of the Convention, SamuelJ. Gholson 
read to the Convention his letter to the President of the 
United States, resigning his position as Judge of the Fed- 
eral courts for Mississippi. 

On the same day Hon. A.-feurt presented his credentials 
as Commissioner from the Republic of South Carolina. 

The Hons. L. P. Conner and John Perkins, delegates 
elected to the State Convention of Louisiana, were invited 
to seats within the bar of the Convention. 

On the fourth day. Commissioner Burt, from the sover- 
eign, free and independent State of South Carolina, ad- 
dressed the Convention. 

On the eighth d^y of the Convention, Mr. Lamar offered 
the following resolution : 

Resolved, That the commissiopers appointed by his Excellency, 
the Governor, in pursuance of a resolution of the Legislature of 
the State of Mississippi, .providing for the appointment of com- 
missioners, etc., approved* November 30th, 1860, be furnished 
each with a copy of the^Ordinance of Secession adopted by this 
Convention, and that they be requested to submit the same to 
the Conventions of the States to which they have been accred- 
ited, and solicit the co-operation of said States, with the action 
of South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida and Alabama. 

Mr. Walter offered the following resolution, which was 
adopted : 

Resolved, That the State of Mississippi recognizes the States 
of Florida and Alabama as sovereign and independent nations, 
and will correspond and treat with them as such. 

On the sixteenth day of the session, Mr. Glenn offered 
the following resolution, which was adopted : 

Resolved, That the Convention do now proceed to vote for 
seven delegates to the Montgomery Convention, without any 
special nominations being made, and no one shall be elected a 
delegate unless he or they shall receive a majority of all the votes 
polled. 

On the first ballot over sixty persons received one or 
more votes, but Judge Wiley P. Harris was the only one 
voted for who received a majority of all the votes cast, and 
was declared elected. 

On succeeding ballots, Messrs. Walker Brooke, W. S. 



346 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

Wilson, A. M. Clayton, W. S. Barry, James T. Harrison 
and J. A. P. Campbell were declared duly elected. 

On the same day the Convention proceeded to the elec- 
tion of a Major-General by ballot. Out of 90 votes cast, 
Colonel Jefferson Davis received 88 votes. 

The Convention then proceeded to the election of four 
Brigadier Generals. Earl Van Dorn, Charles Clark, J. L. 
Alcorn and C. H. Mott were elected. 

Subsequently A. M. West was appointed Brigadier- 
General, vice C. H. Mott, who was elected Colonel of the 
19th Mississippi regiment. 

On the 19th day of the Convention resolutions to provide 
for the representation of the State of Mississippi in the 
Congress of a Southern Confederacy were adopted. 

Section 1 provided for the appointment of Jefferson 
Davis and Albert G. Brown to represent the State of Mis- 
sissippi in the Senatorial branch of any Congress, or other 
legislative bod}'', of any Confederacy or Government to be 
formed between the State of Mississippi and other States, 
as contemplated by the action of this convention, and that 
they hold their office until the end of the next regular or 
called session of the legislature, and should any vacancj'' 
occur in the meantime, the Governor shall make an appoint- 
ment to fill such vacancy. 

Section 2. "That Reuben Davis, Lucius Q. C. Lamar, 
William Barksdale, Otho R. Singleton and John J. McRae 
be, and they are hereby appointed Representatives of the 
State of Mississippi in the representative branch of any 
Congress, or other Legislative body, of any Confederacy 
or Government to be formed between the State of Missis- 
sippi and other States as contemplated by the action of 
this convention ; and that they hold their oflBce until super- 
seded by election to be held in the manner provided by 
law." 

The Governor of the State, by a joint resolution of the 
Legislature adopted on the HOth of November, 1860, pre- 
vious to the assembling of the convention, was charged 
with the duty of appointing commissioners to the several 
slaveholding States, asking their co operation with the 
State of Mississippi in seceding from the Federal Union, 
with the view of establishing a Southern Confederacy. 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 347 

In the performance of this duty Governor Pettus ap- 
pointed the following commissioners : To Tennessee, Hon. 
T. J. Wharton, a native of that State; Hon. Chas. Edward 
Hooker, to the State of South Carolina, of which State he 
was a native ; Hon. Jacob Thompson, to the State of North 
Carolina, of which State, he was a native; Hon. Wirt 
Adams to the State of Louisiana ; Hon. A. H. Handy to 
the State of Maryland, of which State he was a native ; 
George R. Fall to the State of Arkansas ; Hon. W. S. 
Featherston to the Commonwealth of Kentucky ; Hon. W. 
L. Harris to the State of Georgia; Hon. Fulton Anderson 
to the State of Virginia. 

The commissioners were among the ablest and most in- 
fluential citizens of the State, and the delicate duties 
assigned them were performed with ability, dignity and 
patriotism. Elaborate reports of the speeches made in the 
presence of Conventions and Legislatures of the respective 
States to which the commissioners were accredited, and the 
communications submitted to the several executives, can 
be found in the journal of the convention of 1861. 

The changes made in the constitution framed by the con- 
vention of 1861 were such only as the existing state of 
affairs demanded. 

The final vote on the ordinance of secession was taken 
in the afternoon of the 9th day of January, 1861, and not 
one of the great throng of spectators who crowded the 
galleries to witness the last act in the severance of Missis- 
sippi from the Union, can ever forget that solemn scene. 
The roll call of members had been completed, and the last 
name had been recorded. The hall of the House of Rep- 
resentatives was wrapped in silence as deep and still as 
death. The President, the Hon. Wm, S. Barry, rose, and 
with a mute wave of his hand beckoned the Rev. Whitfield 
Harrington to the stand by his side. The entire body of the 
House rose, and with the large assembly of visitors and 
spectators, stood with bowed heads, while this eloquent 
man of God uttered an invocation to Heaven for the bless- 
ing and guidance of the Most High on the step just taken. 

Thousands of patriots had hoped, worked and prayed 
for the conclusion just reached. The people of Missis- 



348 HISTORY OP' MISSISSIPPI. 

sippi believed in their hearts that they had an indefeasi- 
ble right to sever their relations with the Federal Union, 
and to form another better calculated to protect their 
rights and promote their happiness. They believed with 
Abraham Lincoln that : 

"Any people anywhere, being inclined and having the 
power, have the right to rise up and shake off the existing 
government, and form a new one that suits them better." 

"This," said Mr. Lincoln, "is a most valuable and most 
sacred right. A right which we hope and believe is to 
liberate the world." 

"Nor is this right confined to cases in which the whole 
people of an existing government may choose to exercise 
it." 

"Any portion of such people that can. may revolutionize, 
putting down a minority intermingled with or near about 
them who oppose their movements." 

"Such a minority was precisely the case of the Tories of 
the Revolution. It is a quality of revolutions not to go by 
old lines or old laws, but to break up both and make new 
ones." 

And yet when the hour of parting came, the hearts of 
the members of the Convention, and the large number of 
spectators, who were present to witness the final act in the 
great drama, were tilled with a feeling of undefinable sad- 
ness. As the last words of the earnest and fervent invoca- 
tion to the great white throne fell upon the ears of the 
hearers, men "all unused to the melting mood" found 
their eyes growing dim with "the spring dew of the heart." 
All felt that they were turning their backs upon the old 
home and the old flag that they had loved so well. They 
all felt that they were leaving the house builded by their 
ancestors, every stone of which was consecrated in the 
blood of their fathers, and bedewed with the tears of their 
mothers. The starry old flag, too, whose lolds their fathers 
and brothers had garlanded with new glories, was to be 
henceforth a strange, and possibly a hostile one. With 
these memories of the glorious past crowding thick and 
fast upon them, it is not strange, therefore, that their hearts 
should have been stirred, or that their "eyes should have 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 349 

played the woman." It was at this moment that the roar 
of artillery was heard from the outside, and the sound of 
bells was heard ringing in the halls and corridors of the 
capitol. These sounds were intended to voice the joy of 
the people, but they fell with a harsh and discordant tone 
upon the ears of the listeners in the hall of the House of 
Representatives, and it is questionable it any who heard 
them did not incontinently pronounce them, 

"Sweet bells jangled harsh, and out of tune," 

so inapposite were they to the over-laden hearts of those 
who listened. 

Governor Pettus labored zealously and co-operated earn- 
estly with both the Convention and the Legislature of Mis- 
sissippi to put the State in the best possible condition for 
defensive operations. 

In November, 1861, Governor Pettus was re-elected for 
a second term, and when, in January, 1862, he was again 
inducted into office, war was flagrant, and its baleful 
tires were blazing in nearly every Southern State. In the 
course of the year 1863, by virtue of constitutional authori- 
ty vested in him, and by reason of the close proximity of 
the forces of the enemy and the threatened danger to the 
archives of the State, Governor Pettus ordered the removal 
of all the government offices to a place of safety. The city 
of Columbus, in Lowndes county, was selected as the tem- 
porary seat of government, and to that place all the offices 
and their records were removed. 

Governor Pettus was unquestionably an earnest and 
honest patriot. He labored zealously to advance the best 
interests of the State, and to promote the happiness of all 
its people. He was succeeded in January, 1864, by Gen- 
eral Charles Clark, who had been elected at the general 
election in November, 1863. 

With the surrender of General Robert E. Lee, and the 
consequent termination of hostilities. Governor Pettus lost 
heart and hope. He abandoned Mississippi, went to the 
State of Arkansas, lived the life of a recluse, and soon 
passed away. 



CHAPTER XVII. 



THE ADMINISTRATION OF GOVERNOR CHARLES CLARK. 

CHARLES Clark, born in the State of Ohio, May, 1811, 
was elected in November, 1868, and thus became the 
seventeenth Governor of Mississippi, and the twelfth chosen 
under the Constitution of 1832. 

Governor Clark was lineally descended from one of two 
brothers, Clark, by name, and both natives of England, 
who came over in the Mayflower. The elder of the brothers 
remained in the colony of Massachusetts, but the younger 
drifted to the colony of Maryland, where he married and 
raised a large family. From this Maryland progenitor 
was descended Charles Clark, who was the seventeenth 
chief magistrate of the commonwealth, and who embodied 
in his own person all the better elements of the lawyer, the 
soldier, the statesman, the planter and the gentleman. 

After graduating at the Augusta College, in Kentucky, 
young Clark migrated to Mississippi as a school teacher. 
He was first employed as a teacher in Natchez, when a 
yellow fever epidemic scattered his pupils, and broke up 
his school. Not desiring a closer acquaintance with yel- 
low fever, he walked to Benton, the seat of justice for Yazoo 
county. He arrived there with precisely seventy-five cents 
in his pocket, but there was in the vocabulary of Charles 
Clark, glowing with youth, energy and ambition, "no such 
word as fail." He soon obtained a school in Yazoo, and 
while there formed the acquaintance of John M. Sharp. 
That acquaintance ripened into a life-long friendship be- 
tween those sturdy men of action and energy. 

During his hours of leisure, Clark never for a moment 
lost sight of the object he had in view. He had determined 
to adopt the law as a profession, and as soon as he was 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 351 

prepared, was admitted to the bar. After passing his ex- 
amination he located in Fayette, in Jefferson county, where 
he soon secured the friendship and the influence of General 
Thomas Hinds and other prominent gentlemen, and his suc- 
cess was assured. He had secured a large planting inter- 
est in Bolivar county, which he finally made his home. 
He seri^ed as a representative of both counties in the Leg- 
islature. His connection with the second regiment in 
Mexico has been adverted to elsewhere, as is his command 
of brigades and divisions in the Confederate army. It is 
only necessary to add that at the battle of Baton Rouge in 
August, 1862, where he was desperately wounded and dis- 
abled for further military service, the people called him 
from his retirement to perform executive duties. 

General Clark was inducted into office in January, 1864, 
and labored zealously to improve the condition of the 
soldiers of Mississippi already in the field, and to bring 
forth every man for the defence of the women and children 
left at home. When the end came, in the total failure of 
the cause for which General Clark had perilled his life and 
shed his blood, he met the result with the calm fortitude 
of a hero. 

Immediately after the surrender of Lieutenant-General 
Taylor, commanding the Department of Mississippi and 
East Louisiana, to General Canby, commanding the Uni- 
ted States forces in this quarter. Governor Clark convened 
the Legislature, in order that the State might be speedily 
placed in accord with the government at Washington, un- 
der the new order of things. The Legislature was sum- 
moned to meet at the capital on the 18th day of May, 
1865. The offices and archives were ordered to be removed 
to Jackson, and on May 6th, 1865, Governor Clarke issued 
the following proclamation to the people. It will be read 
to-day with interest : 

PROCLAMATION. 

Meridian, Miss., May 6, 1865. 
lo the People of Mississippi: 

Greneral Taylor informs me that all Confederate armies east 
of the Mississippi river are surrendered, with all government 



352 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

cotton, quartermaster, commissary and other stores. Federal 
commanders will only send such troops as may be necessary' to 
guard public property. All oflScers and persons in possession of 
public stores will be held to a rigid accountability, and all em- 
bezzlers certainly arrested. Arrangements will be made to is- 
sue supplies to the destitute. I have called the Legislature to 
convene at Jackson on Thursday, the 18th inst. They will 
doubtless order a Convention. 

The officers of the State government will immediately return 
with the archives to Jackson. County officers will be vigilant in 
the preservation of order and the protection of property. Sher- 
iffs have power to call out the posse comitatus, and the militia will 
keep arms and obey orders for that purpose, as in times of peace. 
The civil laws must be enforced, as they now are, until repealed. 
If the public property be protected, and the peace preserved, 
the necessity for Federal troops in your counties will be avoided. 
You are therefore urged to combine to arrest marauders and 
plunderers. 

The collection of taxes should be suspended, as the laws will 
doubtless be changed. Masters are responsible as heretofore, 
for the protection and conduct of their slaves, and they should 
be kept at home as heretofore. Let all citizens fearlessly adhere 
to the fortunes of the State, aid the returned soldiers to obtain 
civil employment, maintain law and order, contemn all twelfth- 
hour vaporers, and meet stern facts with fortitude and common 
sense. 

Charles Clarke, Grovernor of Mississippi. 

It is evident, from the tenor of this proclamation, that 
if Governor Clarke had been let alone, his wonderfully 
sound sense and almost unerring judgment would have 
soon put the State into harmonious relations with the fed- 
eral government, and thus have averted nearly ten years 
of ruin, wrong and outrage upon a defenceless people. 
This was not to be so, however. 

Instead of commending and supporting the wise and 
patriotic course of the Governor in his efforts for restora- 
tion and peace, the grand old soldier was arrested, torn 
from the bosom of his family, and under a military guard 
sent to Fort Pulaski and there imprisoned. It was at that 
time alleged that Andrew Johnson, President of the Uni- 
ted States, and commander-in-chief of the array and navy, 
had issued this harsh and disgraceful order, that sent 
into confinement, while suffering from severe and pain- 
ful wounds, as true a gentleman and brave a soldier 
as ever drew a sword in defence of the honor of his coun- 
try. 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 353 

How gladly President Johnson would have recalled his 
action is shown by a message to Congress in the early 
part of 1867, in which he said: "Mississippi, in common 
with other seceding States, had a government with all the 
powers, executive, judicial and legislative, which belong 
to a free State." If he had upheld and promoted the pol- 
icy inaugurated by Governor Clark, instead of exhibiting 
that moral weakness which came near destroying the 
whole machinery of republican government, this State 
would have taken its place with restored relations, and 
would have been exempt from the plundering and brain- 
less adventurers who congregated here from every quarter 
of the country. These pilgrims of plunder, with Federal 
protection as their capital, and robbery as their purpose, 
induced the negroes, by appeals and avowals of friend- 
ship, to join secret societies, loyal leagues, etc., until they 
had full control of those ignorant, poor and misguided 
creatures, who were used at the ballot box, reckless of 
right, and with self-gain as the only object of those whose 
instruments they were. 

Grovernor Clark survived the wounds he had received 
during the war, until December, 1877. He had been ap- 
pointed by Governor John M. Stone in 1876, to the posi- 
tion of Chancellor for the Chancery district in which he 
resided, and the duties of that position he discharged with 
exemplar}^ patie»ce and diligence to the last, and with 
a degree of ability and moral uprightness rarely surpassed. 

Among the distinguished soldiers that have led the sons 
of Mississippi to battle, none were braver, none more pru- 
dent. In every position to which he was called, whether 
as a member of the Legislature, Governor of the State, or 
Chancellor, ^no man ever discharged his duty with more 
courage, honor and fidelity. Though born in Ohio, Missis- 
sippi has never had a son truer to her interests and her 
honor than was Charles Clark. 

President Johnson appointed Judge Wm. L. Sharkey, an 
old line Whig, and a prominent Union man in the seces- 
sion contest. Provisional Governor in 1865, and in July fol- 
lowing Governor Sharkey issued a proclamation advising 
the people of the State of his appointment, and his desire to 
23 



354 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

organize a State government; that he was also charged 
with the duty of convening a Convention, to be composed 
of delegates who were loyal to the United States, for the 
purpose of "altering or amending the Constitution," to 
enable the State to "resume its place in the Union." 

Governor Sharkey retained county officers who were 
then discharging their duties as such, except where 
charges of disloyalty were made and sustained. He ad- 
monished the people that the negroes were "not only free 
by the fortunes of war, but by common consent." 

The convention which assembled under the proclamation 
of the Provisional Governor adopted the policy suggested 
in that instrument and so framed the amendments as to be 
in full accord with the Constitution of the United States. 

In the meantime, President Johnson, realizing his blun- 
ders in his eflEbrts to induce northern Republicans to be- 
lieve him true to them, and at the same time realizing that 
Congress was daily growing more inimical to him, made 
haste, in December, 1865, to submit to that body a mes- 
sage, in which he was pleased to say that "the rebellion 
had been suppressed ;" that the Confederate States "ac- 
knowledged obedience to the government of the United 
States ; that United States Courts had been re-established 
and their jurisdiction accepted." 

The Convention of 1865 convened on the 14th day of 
August. Permanent organization was effected by the elec- 
tion of Hon. Jacob S, Yerger, of Washington, President ; 
J. L. Power, of Hinds, Secretary ; T. C. McMackin, of Hinda, 
Sergeant-at-arms ; and Wm. J. Brown, of Hinds, Door- 
keeper. 

It may be safely stated that there has never been 
assembled in this State a deliberative body composed of 
men of more marked and distinguished abilities than those 
who sat in that Convention. Ministers, planters, physi- 
cians and merchants, who were members of the Conven- 
tion, were men of ability in their several vocations, and 
were chosen because of their sound judgment and known 
conservatism. Among the lawyers were many of the most 
prominent and distinguished in the State — Judge Jacob S. 
Yerger of Washington county, E. J. Goode of Lawrence, 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 355 

Jas. T. Harrison of Lowndes, David W. Hurst of Amite, 
Jas. S. Hamm of Kemper, Lock E. Houston of Monroe, 
Amos R. Johnston of Hinds, Harvey F. Johnson of Smith, 
Wra. Yerger of Hinds, Hugh A. Barr of Lafayette, Jas. S. 
Bailey of Tallahatchie, Thomas A, Marshall of Warren, 
Will T. Martin of Adams, E. G. Peyton of Copiah, George 
L. Potter of Hinds, Jno. W. C. Watson of Marshall, Rich- 
ard Cooper of Rankin, Robert A. Hill of Tishomingo, 
Hampton L. Jarnagin of Noxubee, Robert S. Hudson of 
Yazoo, Wm. A. Stone of Copiah, Jason Niles of Attala, 
Jas. H. Maury of Claiborne, and other younger but promis- 
ing members of the bar. 

The Convention consisted of ninety-eight delegates — 
seventy Whigs and twenty-eight Democrats. Twenty-one 
were natives of Tennessee, fourteen of South Carolina, 
twelve of Virginia, eleven of Mississippi, ten of North 
Carolina, nine of Georgia, eight of Kentucky, three of 
Alabama, two of Pennsylvania, one of New York, one of 
Vermont, one of Connecticut, one of Maine, District of 
Columbia one, and Ireland one. The youngest man in the 
Convention was Hon. J. P. Carter, of Perry county. 

The leading spirits of the Convention were in full accord 
with the Provisional Governor, and realized that four years 
of war had reduced the people of the State from a high 
degree of wealth and prosperity to absolute poverty, and 
that having staked all on the arbitrament of war and 
suffered defeat, they desired for themselves and the people 
they represented that the State should resume its former 
relations to the general government, and the restoration of 
civil law. To this end an amendment to the Constitution 
was adopted recognizing the abolition of slavery, and pro- 
viding that "neither slavery or involuntary servitude, other- 
wise than in the punishment of crimes, shall hereafter 
exist in the State," and also declared the ordinance of 
secession passed by the Convention of 1861, null and void. 

An ordinance was also passed repealing all ordinances 
and resolutions adopted in the Convention of 1861, having 
for their object "the regulation of the military system,'' 
raising revenue for war purposes, etc. 

The members of the Convention undertook, in a sensible 



356 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

and manly way, to deal with the situation as it existed. 
They were not unmindfal of the fact that pending the 
armistice between Generals Wm. T. Sherman and Joseph 
E. Johnston, while the troops of the latter were at Greens- 
boro, North Carolina, it was agreed among other things 
that the proclamations touching slavery should be deter- 
mined by the Supreme Court of the United States. 

This writer, without consultation with his associate, 
submits the subjoined letter addressed to the delegates of 
the Convention as expressive of the feelings of all the peo- 
ple of the State at the time it was penned. 

[From the Jackson Daily News.] 

To the Members of the State Convention : 

GrENTLEi\:EN — Among the many delicate and important duties 
devolved upon you in this trying hour, there is one which should 
be, to every Mississippian at least, a most solemn as well as 
grateful duty — one which should neither be forgotten nor 
neglected by any man who respects himself, or regards the 
honor of Mississippi. I allude to the present condition of Jeffer- 
son Davis, lately President of the Confederate States, and Charles 
Clark, late Governor of our own State. They are both the 
inmates of a loathsome prison. The one is immured in Fortress 
Monroe, and the other i# incarcerated in Fort Pulaski, near 
Savannah. Of the treatment of Governor Clark, nothing is 
known. Of that of President Davis, we only know from con- 
current newspaper reports, that he is denied the privilege of 
speech, even with his jailers, when they bring him his daily food, 
and is not permitted to confer with his legal advisers save in 
writing, transmitted through Mr. Secretary Stanton. 

He is not allowed either books or papers, and in the lonely hours 
of his imprisonment his own high thoughts and the recollections 
of the stirring past are his only companions. Jefferson Davis 
and Charles Clark were our chiefs — the one was our President, 
the other was our Governor. The time was when the people of 
Mississippi delighted to honor both, but each conferred more 
honor upon the State than he ever derived from it. In the day 
of their power and glory, there were sycophants without num- 
ber to fawn upon and flatter them. In the dark hour of their 
adversity will the men of Mississippi refuse to sustain and sup- 
port them ? They are now State prisoners, each charged with 
treason, and President Davis is, in addition, charged with an 
atrocious crime, one from Avhich every instinct of his honorable 
and lofty nature revolts with loathing and horror. 

If President Davis and Governor Clark are traitors, what man 
in the State is not also a traitor? If they are guilty,, are you 
and I, gentlemen of the Convention, innocent? You and I have 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 357 

accepted the amnesty offered us by President Johnson, and by 
taking the oath of amnesty and allegiance have purged ourselves 
from the effects of our alleged treason ? Shall we now, having^ 
as much from our official and personal insignificance, as from any 
other cause, perhaps, secured our own safety, ignobly pursue our 
favorite vocations in q^uiet, and leave the men whom we placed 
in the front rank of honor and danger to drag out a miserable 
existence in a loathsome dungeon, without an effort on our part 
to ameliorate their condition or procure their release ? For the 
honor of Mississippi, I hope not. 

The manhood of her sons—the virtue and constancy of her 
daughters forbid it. For all physical purposes we are powerless 
but brave men can" always make themselves respected even in 
the hour of their direst misery. There is a dignity in misfor- 
tune, when bravely borne, which commands admiration It is 
in your power, gentlemen, to show to the world how a brave 
people can bear misfortune without forfeiting their self-respect 
or forgetting their manliness. You represent the people of Mis- 
sissippi m their sovereign capacity. You are assembled to per- 
form the highest duties, and there is none higher, more sacred 
and let me add more honorable, than a manly and honest effort 
to procure the discharge of Jefferson Davis and Charles Clark 
Adopt unanimously, gentlemen of the Convention, a memorial 
to President Johnson, asking for their discharge, or if this be 
impracticable, for their parole until they shall be tried on such 
charges as may be preferred against them. Let the memorial 
be respectful, manly and firm, indicating neither the spirit of the 
bully nor the abjectness of the craven. 

Let the President be informed that every man, woman and 
child m the State would hail with delight the discharge of Jeffer- 
son Davis and Charles Clark, and that while performing an act 
of humanity which will do him honor long after the perishable 
vanities of this world shall have faded from his vision, that from 
o^ery altar where brave men and virtuous women kneel to offer 
their invocations to "the great white throne," for years to come 
the name of Andrew Johnson will be remembered and coupled 
with prayers for blessings upon the man who while passion 
reigned supreme and hate ruled the hour, dared to be generous 
and magnanimous to fallen foes. 

Make the effort, gentlemen, and if you fail, you will at least 
be consoled with the reflection that you have made an honest 
and manly effort to save two old men, " broken with the cares 
of state," who, whatever their faults, have been true to us • men 
who were faithful among the faithless, who, when the false the 
base and the cowardly fell from us, stood only the firmer by 
their colors. "^ 

In fortune and adversity Jefferson Davis and Charles Clark 
have illustrated the dignity of manhood and ennobled human 



358 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

nature, and in attempting to serve them in this dark hour yon 
will be honoring yourselves. 

I am, gentlemen, very respectfully, your fellow citizen, 

William H. McCardle. 
Jackson, Miss., August 17th, 1865. 

When General Sherman reported the terms in this re- 
gard he was ordered at once to resume hostilities and ad- 
vised that his duty was to deal with the enemy in his front. 
The prompt rejection by the Federal authorities of the 
proposition to submit the question of slavery to the 
Supreme Court of the United States, was but a declaration 
that the emancipation proclamation would be sustained 
and enforced. 

It was understood at the time that severe criticisms 
were visited upon General Sherman by the authorities at 
Washington, especially by the Secretary of War, E. M. 
Sianton, and also by the Northern press, going so far as to 
say he had been over-reached by General Johnston. 

When hostilities had ceased, and General Sherman had 
reached Washington at the head of his large army, among 
the many who rushed to pay their respects was the Secre- 
tary of War, Mr. Stanton, but when he extended his hand 
the General drew back and declined to touch it. 

The amendments to the constitution were broad, conser- 
vative and patriotic. They recognized that slavery was 
abolished, and that this State was the home of the negro ; 
that it was not only necessary to enact a code of laws for 
his protection in the new relation of freedman, but at the 
same time direct his mind to the necessity for honest 
labor. 

The Legislature convened at the city of Jackson, on 
October 16th, 1865, in compliance with an ordinance 
adopted by the convention in August. The Senate was 
organized by the election of Hon. J. M. Simonton, Presi- 
dent, D. P. Porter, Secretary, and D. M. Wilkinson, Door- 
keeper. The House elected Hon. S. J. Gholson, of Monroe, 
Speaker, Robt. C, Miller, of Clarke, Clerk, and Henry 
Moode, of Hinds, Doorkeeper. 

Immediately upon the organization of the two houses, 
they went into joint convention to count the vote for Gov- 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 359 

ernor, the candidates being Judge E. S. Fisher, Hon. Wm 
S. Patton and General Benjamin G. Humphreys. General 
Humphreys having received the largest num^ber of votes 
was declared duly and constitutionally elected. 

On the same day the two houses again met in joint 
assembly and were addressed by the Provisional Governor, 
W. L. Sharkey, after which the Governor-elect delivered 
his inaugural and took the oath of office, administered by 
Hon. W. L. Sharkey. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 



ADMINISTRATION OF GOVERNOR BENJ. G. HUMPHREYS. 

BENJAMIN G. Humphreys, born in what is now known 
as Claiborne county, in the year 1808, became 
the eighteenth Governor of the Commonwealth of Missis- 
sippi and the thirteenth chosen under the constitution of 
1882. He was born nine years before the Territory was 
admitted to the rights and honors of Statehood. He was 
the son of George Wilson Humphreys, who was a promi- 
nent and influential factor in all Territorial affairs. Col. 
Ralph Humphreys, who commanded a Virginia infantry 
regiment during the entire revolutionary struggle, was his 
paternal grandfather and he was closely related to the 
Hon. James Wilson, one of the very great men who sat in 
the convention which framed the Constitution of the United 
States, as a delegate from the colony of Pennsylvania. 
The name Wilson has been borne in the family of Hum- 
phreys for three generations, and is still proudly worn. 

Young Ben. Humphreys grew up in the wilderness of 
Claiborne county, where the Choctaw Indians were abun- 
dant, and soon learned to ride like a Comanche, shoot like 
an expert^ and swim like a fish. He was early sent to 
Kentucky to school, and later he was sent to New Jersey 
to attend a school in the vicinity of Morristown. In after 
years he was sent to the Military Academy at West Point, 
where he first met and learned to love those heroic charac- 
ters, Jefferson Davis and Robert E. Lee. For some boyish 
frolic, young Ben. Humphreys was expelled, returned to 
his home and became the manager of his father's growing 
plantation. 

For several years his life flowed on in a quiet stream. 
Meantime he had formed a matrimonial alliance and had 
some young olive plants clustering about his knees. 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 361 

With his sound sense and solid judgment, he soon became 
an important factor in the politics of his county, and fre- 
quently represented Claiborne in both branches of the 
Legislature. 

When the great war between the States came on, Mr. 
Humphreys was planting extensively in Sunflower county, 
where he had made his home for several years. He had 
almost forgotten the time when he was a cadet at West 
Point and dreamed of being a soldier and winning honor 
at the cannon's mouth. But when the tocsin of war was 
heard in the land, when he found that his own native sec- 
tion was to be invaded, the old boyish spirit leaped into 
his heart, and he at once determined to don the habili- 
ments of a soldier. He immediately raised a large com- 
pany composed chiefly of his neighbors and their sons, 
and offered them direct to his old companion at West 
Point, who was then the President of the Confederate 
States of America. The company was accepted and 
ordered to proceed at once to Richmond. It was there 
thrown into what was afterwards known as the 21st regi- 
ment, and Captain Benj. G. Humphreys was appointed 
Colonel, William L. Brandon as Lieutenant Colonel, and 
John Gibson Taylor as Major. 

The 21st regiment participated in all the great battles in 
Virginia, from the Seven Pines to Gettysburg. At the lat- 
ter place Humphreys was commanding a brigade, as a 
brigadier-general. He was also with his brigade at the 
bloody battle of Chickamauga. 

Hence it was, that when peace brooded over all the land, 
the people, without reference to former party affiliations, 
invited General Humphreys to 'come up higher," and as he 
had ruled well and wisely over many little things, he was 
chosen for the ruler of the whole State of Mississippi. 
How well he governed the State is known of all men. With 
what diligence and patience, with what fidelity and zeal 
he served the people, is equally well known. No braver 
knight ever laid lance in rest. No truer friend ever 
breathed, and as long as any of the present generation 
survive, the name of Benjamin G. Humphreys will remain 
the synonym for knightly honor, for fidelity to every trust 
for loyalty to every duty. 



362 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

Governor Humphreys, upon the retirement of Hon. W. 
L. Sharkey, Provisional (iovernor, was inducted into office 
on the 16th of October, 1865, and proceeded to deliver his 
inaugural address, in the presence of the two houses of the 
Legislature that had assembled in joint convention. In 
this admirable address he said : 

"It has been reported from some quarters that our peo- 
ple are insincere, and the spirit of revolt is rampant among 
us. But if an unflinching fidelity in war gives evidence of 
reliable fidelity in peace, if the unvarying professions that 
spring from private and public sources furnish any evi- 
dence of truth, it is sufficiently demonstrated that the peo- 
ple of tbe South, who so long, and against such terrible 
odds, maintained the mightiest conflict of modern ages, 
may be safely trusted, when they profess more than a wil- 
lingness to return to their allegiance. 

"The South having ventured all upon the arbitrament of 
the sword, has lost all save her honor, and now accepts the 
result in good faith." 

Early in the session Judge William L. Sharkey and 
Hon. James L. Alcorn were elected United States Senators, 
the term of the former commencing March 5, 1863, and the 
latter commencing March 5, 1865. 

The Senators elect were old line Whigs of prominence 
prior to the war. Judge Sharkey had been Chief Justice 
of the Supreme Court tor nearly twenty years, while Gen- 
eral Alcorn had served repeatedly with distinction in both 
branches of the Legislature and was a trusted leader of his 
party. 

Both the gentlemen were outspoken against secession 
that severed the relations of the State with the Federal 
Government, and for this reason as well as their known 
conservatism and distinguished abilities, it was believed 
that they would not only be admitted to seats in the Senate, 
but that they would exercise and wield a large influence 
towards restoring the State to her former relations in the 
Union. The Convention that assembled on the 14th of 
August, 1865, two months previous to the meeting of the 
Legislature, wisely appointed a committee to prepare and 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 363 

submit to the approaching Legislature for their considera- 
tion such new laws and changes in existing statutes as they 
deemed expedient to meet the changed domestic relations,, 
promote industry and secure obedience to law and order. 
Hons. E. J. Goode, Robert S. Hudson and William Hem- 
ingway were selected for this important service. 

It was necessary to provide for the extension of civil 
rights to the negroes, and at the same time to place a tem- 
porary restraint upon both races. The legislation recom- 
mended by this Committee bore evidence of earnest labor 
and legal ability, and directed the minds of the law-makers 
to the importance of the work before them. 

During the session the Governor in a special message to 
the Legislature recommended the enactment of a statute 
conferring upon freedmen the right to testify in all cases 
in court, and at the same time to provide for the forcing of 
the idle and vagrant to some employment. The fact that 
the white people at the time were under the pressure of 
Federal bayonets, tended to make the negro idle and worth- 
less. 

The authorities at Washington were petitioned time and 
again for the withdrawal of the troops, but the only re- 
sponse, either private or public, made by President John- 
son was that ''the troops will all be withdrawn from Missis- 
sippi when, in the opinion of the government, peace and 
order and civil authority has been restored and can be 
maintained without them." 

The State authorities found it difficult to satisfy the gov- 
ernment of the loyalty of our people, and their ability and 
willingness to preserve the peace and maintain civil pro- 
cess, notwithstanding all legislation was so shaped as to in- 
vite confidence in our purpose to uphold the law. 

In the meantime, the people of the State were restless 
because of the continued imprisonment of President Jefter- 
son Davis. Amnesty had been extended to nearly all 
others who had participated in the war, he alone being in 
confinement. He was the most renowned of all Missis- 
sippi's public men— was the Chief of the ''Lost Causer- 
beloved by the people of the entire South and especially so 
by those of his own State. 



364 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI, 

In fartherance of their wishes a memorial asking for 
his release was adopted by the Legislature and transmitted 
by the Grovernor to the President of the United States set- 
ting forth in earnest and respectful terms their good in- 
tentions, and that "the State seceded by its own act, 
through its own Convention, through no agency of his. 
When the provisional government was organized at Mont- 
gomery he was unanimously placed at its head without 
solicitation and without even a concurrence on his part, 
for it is well known that his expressed preference was that 
some one else should be placed in the position. When 
the voice of his countrymen was made known to him, he 
simply yielded to that voice, which was later repeated 
with great unanimity by the suffrages of the people." 
President Davis was bred a soldier, descended from a 
family of soldiers, and it was well known by those nearest 
to him that he preferred service in the field. 

Although much of the legislation of 1865 as was then 
contemplated by those who conceived, digested and framed 
the laws, was, at a subsequent session, greatly modified, 
yet at this day, a quarter of a century later, it must be con- 
ceded that there was much wisdom, and, with the surround- 
ings, an unusual degree of conservatism running through 
the series of laws of that session that made the relations 
between the races tolerable, and at the same time avoided 
collisions between citizens and an arrogant and insolent 
soldiery quartered and garrisoned in a State where peace, 
order and law were observed and upheld. 

It was during this session that the joint standing Com- 
mittee on State and Federal Relations made a report upon 
the subject of what is known as the direct tax imposed on 
the sevpral States by an act of Congress approved August 
5th, 1861, to increase the revenue for war purposes, by the 
terms of which twenty millions was annually laid on the 
United States, and the same apportioned to the States. By 
this apportionment the State of Mississippi was charged 
with $41 3,084.66. The tax thus assessed was upon the valua- 
tion of lands and improvements thereon, as valued in 
April, 1862. There was an exemption of $500 upon prop- 
erty belonging to any one person actually residing on it. 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 365 

If at the passage of the above statute the tax could not 
be collected by reason of war, it was made the duty of the 
President to execute its provisions when the United States 
government should be re-established. By the ace the 
privilege was given any State to assume, collect and pay 
its quota of this direct tax. 

A joint resolution was passed December 5th, 1865, by 
the Legislature, instructing their Senators and requesting 
their Representatives to endeavor to get this amount, 
$413,084.66, remitted by Congress, but in the event of re- 
fusal, the State assumed to pay such sum as shall be de- 
termined, and authorize the Governor to take necessary 
steps for such assumption. 

After a session of forty-five days the Legislature ad- 
journed. On the 15th day of August, 1866, Governor 
Humphreys issued his proclamation convening the Legis- 
lature in extra session, on the 15th day of the following 
October. 

In his message submitted to the two houses after assem- 
bling, he referred to the proposed amendments to the Con- 
stitution of the United States as being destructive to the 
rights of the States, and also to the antagonisms existing 
between the President and the Congress. On the twelfth 
day of the session, the Governor transmitted a special 
message to the two houses, stating that the precarious 
condition of the health of President Davis and the appre- 
hension felt for his imprisonment during the approaching 
winter, induced him to recommend the appointment of one 
or more commissioners to visit Washington and confer 
with the President of the United States, with a view to the 
release of Mr. Davis on parole or bail. 

In response to this message a concurrent resolution was 
passed authorizing the appointment of two commissioners 
for the service recommended. 

The Governor appointed Giles M. Hillyer, a member of 
the house from Adams county, and Robert Lowry, a mem- 
ber of the Senate from Rankin and Smith counties. 

After a prolonged conference with the Governor, the 
conclusion was reached, that in the event of a refusal on 
the part of the authorities at Washington, the commis- 



366 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

sioners would be charged with the duty of visiting Mr. 
Charles O'Conner, of New York, and Mr. Wm. B. Reed, 
of Philadelphia, of counsel for President Davis, and learn 
from these gentlemen their opinions as to the release or 
trial of the distinguished prisoner, and lastly, to obtain 
permission from the proper department to visit the great 
Mississippian in his prison quarters, and make known to 
him the devotion of his people and the efforts they were 
making in his behalf. 

The commissioners discharged the duty as best they 
could, and on their return, in January, 1867, made in per- 
son a full report to the Governor. 

When Hon. J. F. H. Claiborne was engaged in writing 
a history of Mississippi, the manuscript of the second 
volume being unfortunately destroyed by tire, he wrote 
urgently requesting that the writer of this should furnish 
him with a copy of the interview with the President of 
the United States, and other incidents touching the same 
matter, occurring in the discharge of their duties, for inser- 
tion in his book. In complying with the request, it was 
distinctly stated that the manuscript should be submitted 
to President Davis, and not published unless approved by 
him. His consent was obtained, as will appear from the 
following letter to Col. Claiborne : 

Beauvoir, p. O., Harrison County, Mississippi, ) 
September 28tb, 1878. j 

My Dear Sir : I have the pleasure to acknowledge yours of 
the 13th and 14th inst., and cordially thank you for the kindness 
manifested in both. 

General Lowry sent to me a copy of the paper contributed to 
you, stating that he would not have it published if objectionable 
to me. I replied that the only criticism I would make on it was 
its too favorable reference to myself. He is entitled to my last- 
ing gratitude for the boldness which characterized his inter- 
course with President Johnson, and his prompt rejection of the 
evasive generalities by which Mr. Johnson attempted to conceal 
his malignity towards me personally. In pleading his want of 
power, and suggesting his desire to comply with the application 
of the commissioners, he paved the way to the usurpations of 
Congress by which he became as powerless as he represented 
himself to be, but was not when the Commissioners visited him. 

Accept my thanks for the privilege you gave, in sending to me 
an extract from the contribution of my friend, and former col- 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 367 

league, Ex-Senator Brown. He and I served together in trying 
times, and we have suffered alike, for conscience and duty's sake. 
Ma}^ a kind Providence smooth his path for the remainder of 
his journey. 

Your friend, Jefferson Davis. 

The colleague of the writer, Hon. Giles M. Hillyer, and 
the prominent officials with whom the Commissioners 
came in contact in Washington, President Johnson. Gen. 
Grant, at that time Secretary of War, Mr. Charles O'Con- 
ner, the distinguished New York lawyer, Mr. Wm. B. 
Reed, of Philadelphia, and last, the beloved chief himself, 
are dead, the writer of this, being the sole survivor of 
those mentioned. 

The action of the Legislature had been announced by- 
telegraph, and commented on by the press, especially that 
of the North. 

When the Commissioners reached the national capital, 
in November, 1866, they received a most cordial welcome 
by many Southern people, then in the city. 

General Richard Taylor, a son of President Zachary 
Taylor, and brother-in-law of President Davis, had been 
there some'weeks previous to the arrival of the Commis- 
sioners, and immediately called, giving such information 
as he had been able to obtain in regard to public senti- 
ment touching the further imprisonment of President Davis. 
He and other friends met the Commissioners in confer- 
ence a number of times, in their parlor at Willard's Hotel, 
previous to their first interview with President Johnson, 
who at the request of the Commissioners, appointed the 
day and hour to receive them. 

At the designated time the Commissioners called at the 
White House, and were politely received by the President. 
Major Hillyer first addressed the President on the object 
of our mission, without inviting interruption. For twenty 
or thirty minutes he poured forth, in chaste and pure Eng- 
lish, a most touching and beautiful appeal. The writer 
thought at the time, and has often since, that if the words 
could have been taken down as they fell from the lips of 
the speaker, they would have taken rank as a faultier- 
production. 




368 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

The President then turned, facing this writer, when the 
following conversation occurred between Commissioner 
Lowry and the President : 

Commissioner Lowry — Mr. President, we came to see you as 
Commissioners from our State, having credentials from his Ex- 
cellency, the Governor, to ask the release of Ex-President Davis. 
You are not unmindful of the fact, that we regard Mr. Davis as 
the embodiment of the sentiment of the Southern people, and 
that he is suffering for us. With the present surroundings, and 
embittered feelings of the Northern people, we can only look to 
you for that relief to which we know Mr. Davis is entitled." 

President Johnson — I do not see how I could act at this time. It 
is a grave question. 

Commissioner Lowry — Ii is now clear that there will be an issue 
between the Congress soon to assemble, and the Executive, and 
the prompt pardon of Mr. Davis by yourself will cement and 
bind the Southern people to you. 

President Johnson — I know the great solicitude of the Southern 
people about Mr. Davis, but the situation of the country, and the 
gravity of the question, demands the greatest deliberation on 
the part of the Executive. 

Commissioner Lowry — Mr. President, I beg to call your atten- 
tion to the act of the Congress of the United States, passed in 
1862, authorizing the President to extend to all persons, that he 
might deem proper, pardon and amnesty, and I wish to say, that 
in the present condition of political affairs, my opinion is, that 
within ten days after Congress meets this law will be repealed > 
and you will be powerless to grant the pardon that millions of 
people now ask at your hands. 

President Johnson — Congress, if it sees fit, can repeal that law, 
but as Chief Magistrate of the Nation, under the Constitution, if 
I see proper, I can exercise the power of pardon. 

Commissioner Lowry — It is not my province to discuss your 

power as President, under the Constitution, but I venture the 

opinion that such power will be denied by Congress, and under 

•the law to which I call your attention^ there can be no question 

as to its exercise. 

This character oi conversation was continued for some time, 
N^when President Johnson said : 

^^ Gentlemen — I do not see that I can do anything, but I will see 



HISTORY OP MISSISSIPPI. 369 

Commissioner Lowry : Mr. President, before this interview \s 
concluded, allow me to say that I presume that there is not a 
well informed man, North, South, Bast or West, but believes and 
knows that Mr. Davis would be at any place, at any time, to 
answer any charge that may be preferred against him by the 
government of the United States. 

President Johnson : I presume not. 

Commissioner Lowry : Then, if this be true, why not advise 
the authorities to at least grant him bail, and not let him die by 
inches ? The bail would be promptly given, if it did not exceed 
in amount the value of all the property in the Southern States. 

President Johnson: I cannot control that, but I will see you 
again. 

It was probably ten days later when the Commissioners 
called again to see the President. He was alone, and as 
the door closed he arose from his chair and approached 
the Commissioners, seemingly excited, gesticulating with 
both arms, and said .- 

"Don't you see, don't you see, don't you see, gentlemen, that 
I can't do anything in the matter of Mr. Davis !" 

Commissioner Lowry : No, Mr. President, from my standpoint, 
I can't see it, but I can see with a plain statute conferring 
the authority on the Executive, to grant pardon and amnesty, 
that you could pardon Mr. Davis, who is made to suffer for the 
entire Southern people, and who is no more culpable than the 
humblest of his many thousand followers. 

Thus ended the last interview of the Commissioners with 
President Johnson, whom this writer regarded as an able 
man, but greatly wanting in moral courage. 

From Washington, the Commissioners, armed with 
authority from the Secretary of War, General Grant, went 
to see President Davis, then confined at Fortress Monroe. 
At Baltimore they were joined by two young ladies, rela- 
tives of Major Hilly er. 

The party arrived at the Fort at 6 o'clock in the morn- 
ing, and in a short time afterwards were admitted to Presi- ^^ 
dent Davis's prison quarters. After spending an hour or ^ 
more with him, Major Hilly er, accompanied by the ladies, 'I 
went out to look at the Fort and its surroundings., and di ' 
not return until four or five o'clock in the evening, "^liis 
24 




370 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

interval the writer spent with the ex-President, and, at his 
request, gave him in detail as near as possible, everything 
that occurred between President Johnson and the Com- 
missioners during the interview mentioned, including the 
reference to the probable feud between Congress and him- 
self. 

In discussing President Johnson's inclination to pardon 
at all, the writer remarked to Mr. Davis, that Mr. Johnson 
no doubt found it difficult to relieve himself of the utter- 
ance. "Treason is odious and should be punished." 

Mr. Davis replied with more than usual earnestness, "I 
shall not be surprised if President Johnson is tried for 
treason before I am." 

The prediction so impressed the writer that on his return 
home he mentioned it to a number of friends, all of whom 
lived to see the fulfillment of this prophecy, in the trial of 
President Johnson for high crimes and misdemeanors, 
before the American Senate, sitting as a Court of Impeach- 
ment, and he came within one vote of being convicted. 

In prison ex-President Davis was the same courtly 
gentleman that he was in the parlor, the Senate Chamber, 
and as the great chosen chief of millions of people. 

After the day's conversation with Mr. Davis in his prison 
quarters, the writer was more than ever impressed with the 
fact that he was the greatest living American statesman. 

From Fortress Monroe the Commissioners went to Phila- 
delphia, and were there joined by Mr. Wm. B. Reed, and 
proceeded to New York to see Mr. O'Conner who was lead- 
ing counsel for Mr. Davis. A full and free conference with 
the counsel mentioned, led the Commissioners to believe 
that the government would in the end abandon the prose- 
cution. President Davis was admitted to bail on 14th of 
May, 1867, and subsequently the prosecution was dis- 
missed. 

On the 30th day ol October, after a session of fifteen 
days, the legislature adjourned until the 3d Monday in 
Jajiuary, 1867. 

Ou the 21st of January, 1867, the legislature met pursu- 

***' to adjournment. Upon a call of the Senate Hon. Jesse 

^^}'^''*SfiDator elect from the counties of Rankin and Smith, 

(vice ^-^p Lowry, resigned,) appeared and qualified. 




HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 371 

During the session, needed changes and alterations of the 
legislation of 1865, were made, as well as new enactments 
that were found applicable to the changed condition of 
affairs. It was during this session that the XIV amend- 
ment to the Constitution of the United States was sub- 
mitted to the legislature for its action. Tlie joint standing- 
committee on State and Federal Relations, Judge H. F. 
Simrall, chairman, recommended that the State refuse to 
ratify the amendment to the Constitution of the United 
States, proposed by Congress as Article XIV, which was 
adopted without a dissenting vote. 

The Legislature adjourned on the 21st of February, 1867. 
Greneral Humphreys died qu^te suddenly at his home, Itta 
Bena, Leflore county, on the 20th December, 1882, and had 
the entire population of Mississippi for mourners. 



CHAPTER XIX. 



CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION OF 1868. 

MISSISSIPPI had complied with every demand made 
by the government at Washington ; had expressed, 
through her authorized agents, a desire to be restored to 
the Union ; but, notwithstanding all this, restoration was 
curtly refused ; her Senators and Representatives were de- 
nied their seats in the two houses of Congress, and this 
and the other seceding States were divided into five 
military districts, and a general officer of the regular army 
was assigned to the command of each. The fourth mili- 
tary district comprised the States of Arkansas and Missis- 
sippi, and Brevet Major-General Edwin Otho CreswellOrd 
was assigned to its command. General Ord, soon after 
assuming command of the fourth district, issued an order 
in pursuance of the reconstruction act of Congress, ap- 
proved March 23d, 1867, for an election of delegates to a 
Convention called for the purpose of revising or making 
anew the organic law of the commonwealth of Mississippi. 
In selecting delegates to that Convention a large num- 
ber of the most intelligent white citizens in the State 
were excluded from participation in the election, by test 
oaths, penalties, etc., while the negroes, ignorant and un- 
scrupulous, knowing nothing of the responsibility attach- 
ing to the elective franchise, were made the docile instru- 
ments of an equally ignorant and more corrupt and 
worthless class of white men than ever cursed a free country. 

This motley assemblage, known to this day as the 

'Black and Tan Convention," was called to order January 

7th, 1868, by Alston Mygatt, who appeared there as the 

called" representative of the people of Warrea county^ 

^'■^'.^red an address overflowing with venom against 



'f y.^; 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 373 

the people of his own race, filled with false and silly crit- 
icisms of the previous history of the State and its people, 
and suggesting the disfranchisement of the most intelli- 
gent, educated and virtuous men in Mississippi. 

There were a number of able, patriotic and true men in 
the Convention, but they were as powerless to accomplish 
good — confronted as they were by an overwhelming ma- 
jority of characterless adventurers and ignorant negroes — 
as they would have been to turn aside the mighty Missis- 
sippi river with a single straw. One B. B. Eggleston, bet- 
ter known by his soubriquet of '"Buzzard" Eggleston, a 
coarse, illiterate and vulgar fellow, one of the class hap- 
pily characterized by Horace Greely as of the "Driftwood 
Brigade," and claiming to represent the great and enlight- 
ened county of Lowndes, was made president of the Con- 
vention over the Hon. John W. C. Watson, an old and hon- 
ored citizen of the State, a distinguished lawyer, and a 
cultivated christian gentleman. One of the first things in 
order was to appoint a committee to report upon and fix 
the daily compensation of the members. No time was 
lost in reporting and adopting a resolution fixing the com- 
pensation of the president at $20.00 per diem ; the pay of 
the members was rated at $10.00 a day, and that of the 
employes and hangers-on was fixed in proportion to that 
of the members. 

A great many of the delegates hailed from counties 
where they had no identity with the people, where they 
were unknown to the taxpayers whom they impudently 
claimed to represent, whose substance they desired to 
waste, but were most anxious to participate in the work 
of plundering and oppressing a brave but helpless people, 
who were struggling manfully to restore their ruined for- 
tunes and provide for their wives and children. 

As an evidence of the profligacy of these characterless 
vagabonds, of these bold brigands, thus suddenly raised 
from their native insignificance to a position of promi- 
nence, masquerading as statesmen and constitution- 
makers, it is only necessary to state the fact that they 
paid four newspapers, the Mississippi State Journal, the 
Vicksburg Republican, the Meridian Chronicle and the 



374 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

Mississippi Pilot, each established to stir up strife be- 
tween the races and share the plunder wrung from an op- 
pressed and down-trodden people, the sum of twenty -eight 
thousand, five hundred and eighteen dollars and seventy- 
five cents for publishing the proceedings and debates of 
the Convention, to say nothing of what was paid for the 
printing of the ponderous journal in book form. 

It affords food for reflection at this day to look over the 
names of those engaged in the business of constitution 
making, and the counties they claimed to represent twen- 
ty-two years ago. Happily for the State and its people, 
nine- tenths of the vultures are gone, never again to return 
to the people they plundered and oppressed in the hour of 
their direst misery. Many have gone down to dishonored 
graves, others have sought new fields of plunder, and it is 
safe to say not half a dozen of the gang of white free- 
booters who were engaged in the business of statesman- 
ship in 1868, are to be found within the borders of Missis- 
sippi to-day. The few negro members of the "Black and 
Tan Convention," who still survive, have returned to their 
original vocations, and are today competing with the bar- 
bers, boot-blacks, hack-drivers, blacksmiths, waiters and 
fiddlers, who never abandoned their business to play the 
role of statesmen. Such an upheaval of society, such a 
disturbance of governmental affairs, as could again bring 
back to power such a brood of ignorance and villiany 
would bankrupt the most fertile imagination ever vouch- 
safed to man to conceive. 

These servile tools and trucklers to military power 
basely surrendered the right of all deliberative assemblies 
in America to judge of the election and qualifications to 
membership of their own body. The convention declared 
that it was not within its province to determine, in cases 
of contest, who were delegates to the convention, and that 
such contests could only be rightfully decided by the 
major-general commanding the fourth military district. 
In the case of Benjamin H. Orr, who claimed to be elected 
from Harrison county, a committee reported that "Orr be- 
came a candidate for delegate to the convention with the 
express consent of the military commander of this district, 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 375 

contained in special orders No. 196,'''' and the convention 
awarded the seat to Orr. So shameless an abandonment of 
all right and power, so disgraceful a travesty of deliber- 
ative proceedings was never before or since exhibited to the 
admiring gaze of the world. 

The corrupt carpetbaggers, the ignorant negroes and the 
baser renegades, who had tried their "prentice hands" on 
the work of constitution making, for the few citizens of 
intelligence and decency had but little part in the construc- 
tion of that instrument, completed their labors on May 15, 
18d8, after having been in session four months and nine 
days. Each member of this multi colored aggregation of 
ignorance, insolence and imbecility, including negroes, ren- 
egades and carpet baggers from every quarter of the coun- 
try, drew ($1,290) twelve hundred and ninety dollars pay 
for his invaluable services, to which may be added the paj' 
of "Buzzard Eggleston," the President of the Convention of 
$2,580) twenty-five hundred and eighty dollars. The entire 
pay of the members alone, aggregated the immense sum of 
($128,710) one hundred and twenty-eight thousand seven 
hundred and ten dollars. 

This vast amount was greatly augmented by the pay of 
reporters, secretaries, sergeant-at-arms, chaplain, post- 
master, door-keeper, pages, and all other places that the 
ingenuity of these reckless brigands could devise, to say 
nothing of the enormous amount expended for public 
printing. The aggregate cost of this convention may be 
safely estimated at a no less sum than a quarter of a mil- 
lion of dollars. After these corrupt, unprincipled and 
vindictive buccaneers had expended their venom and ad- 
journed, their handiwork of malice was submitted to the 
people for ratification or rejection. The white people of 
the State, incensed as they were beyond expression, 
avowed their determination to reject the mis-begotten and 
scoundrelly constitution, maintain their free-born man- 
hood, and let consequences take care of themselves, and 
nobly did they accomplish their purpose. 

It will be remembered that the election at which the 
constitution was rejected, was held under the direction and 
supervision of the military commander of the district, who. 



376 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

according to his own report, took precaution to station 
troops at as many as sixty places in different quarters of 
the State. And yet, notwithstanding the presence of 
the soldiers in nearly every county in the State; in spite of 
the fact that the entire election machinery was in the 
hands of, and controlled by the military, in spite of the 
fact that the gleam of the bayonet could be seen at many 
polling places; yet, notwithstanding the other odious and 
undeniable fact that a large number of the most intelligent 
and capable white citizens of the State were denied the 
right to vote, and were interfered with when they 
attempted to engage in the discussion of the wrongs and 
outrages sought to be perpetrated, the knavish instrument 
was voted down by an overwhelming majority. In this 
good work, the white people of the State owe a large debt 
of gratitude to the negro voters for their voluntary and en- 
thusiastic support in that great contest. 

In submitting the constitution for ratitication or rejec- 
tion, there was a "committee of five" appointed by the 
convention, charged with the duty of making proclama- 
tion of the result of the election. In the hour of defeat, 
this committee, in its desperation, issued and caused to be 
published a statement that the counties of DeSoto, Ran- 
kin, Lafayette, Yalobusha, Carroll, Copiah and Chicka- 
saw, had been carried against the adoption of the consti- 
tution by fraud, intimidation and violence, and recom- 
mended that the people of those counties should be denied 
representation in the Legislature, and that their people 
should be deprived of the right to vote for represen- 
tatives in Congress, or for State officers. The sugges- 
tions of the committee of five were, however, not adopted. 
The members of the convention and the committee of five, 
continued to discuss the constitution they had made, until 
the election and inauguration of President Grant, whom 
they fondly hoped would assist them in fastening manacles 
upon the people of Mississippi. In this, however, they 
were doomed to a sad disappointment. That great soldier 
had as much contempt for them and their miserable work 
as the people of Mississippi had recently manifested. 
With the manly frankness of the true soldier, he recom- 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 377 

mended to Congress to provide for the holding of another 
election, and allow the people the privilege of voting for 
or against the disfranchising clauses separately, as well as 
for State officers. Representatives in Congress and in the 
Legislature. This provision, so submitted, embraced the 
XIV and XV amendments to the constitution of the 
United States, which provided for the right of suffrage, 
without regard to race, color or previous condition of ser- 
vitude. The election was held in November, 1869, when 
the white people of the State accepted the constitution as 
modified and recommended by the president. At the first 
election thereafter, by an odious and discriminating ap- 
portionment, the carpet-baggers, negroes and renegades, 
were enabled to secure a large majority in the Legislature 
and elected all the State officers and representatives in 
Congress. The Legislature when assembled elected two 
United States Senators. 

The constitution was framed by the carpet-baggers, 
negroes and renegades, for the sole purpose of taking 
charge of the State government, creating as many offices 
as possible, and coercing the impoverished tax-payers to 
pay large salaries to a class of men notoriously unfitted 
for the duties they assumed to perform. At this late day 
it may be safely affirmed that with the exception of a score 
of gentlemen, out of the entire membership of ninety-eight 
in the body, who, by training and education, were fit rep- 
resentatives of an^intelligent and high-spirited people, no 
such assemblage had ever before convened within the 
broad limits of the commonwealth. 

In reference to the personnel of the Convention, a score or 
more were ignorant and unlettered negroes, fresh from the 
corn-field, the kitchen and the stable, puffed up with the 
importance of their official positions, and drawing ten dol- 
lars a day for their services from the impoverished tax- 
payers. Nearly two score of the carpet-bag adventurers, 
nine-tenths of whom were corrupt, unprincipled and igno- 
rant, had drifted into the State after the close of the war, 
seeking "assignment" to duty, as one of the gang phrased 
it. 

The next in order came nearly a score of renegades who 



378 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

found lodgment in the Convention, and subsequently into 
other lucrative positions. 

"Buzzard" Eggleston, the President of the Convention, 
in his closing address, made an amusing and unique exhi- 
bition of himself : "Gentlemen," he said, ^'- 1 belleTie the har- 
vest is already ripe. " Doubtless he saw "five years of 
good stealing," as another carpet-bagger in South Carolina 
once said. He admonished his co-workers in iniquity to 
"invite all those who wished to see the great State of Mis- 
sissippi restored to her proper relations with the Federal 
Government, who wished to aid in the restoration of peace, 
prosperity and happiness to our impoverished country. 
'■''to come with us. for we will do them goody 

No more shameless record in the annals of crime was 
ever made than by the Constitutional Convention presided 
over by "Buzzard" Eggleston. We have made mention of 
only two names of this disreputable and malodorous gang, 
and we do not propose to stain the pages of this volume with 
the names of the other cormorants, though by doing so we 
should embalm them in an immortality of infamy and 
shame. 

It only remains to be added that the election for delegates 
to the Constitutional Convention was ordered by the mili- 
tary commander of the fourth district. That wretched 
Pro Consul of a conquered province made the apportion- 
ment of delegates among the several counties, awarding 
at his own sweet will the number of representatives each 
county shall have in this most delectable assemblage ; and 
iinally "General Orders No. 42," emanating from head- 
quarters, at Holly Springs, Mississippi, and bearing date 
December 16, 1867, announced the election of the members 
of the Convention from the several counties in the State. 
This same order contained a most original and unique para- 
graph in the following words : 

"Each delegate-elect will be furnished from these head- 
quarters with an official copy of this order, which will con- 
stitute his certificate of election.'^'' 

Thus the ragamuffins who claimed to represent the peo- 
ple of Mississippi in their sovereign capacity, were proved 
to be the mere creatures, the passive instruments, and the 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 379 

ignoble product of brute force, the direct emanation of the 
bayonet. It is not wonderful, then, that even the negroes 
were disgusted with a Constitution made by such men and 
such methods, and heartily co-operated with their white 
neighbors in trampling the noxious thing into the mire. 

After the adoption of the Constitution of 1868, a Repub- 
lican Convention met and nominated B. B. Eggleston for 
Governor, and a full Republican ticket. 

The Democrats held a State Convention and nominated 
B. G. Humphreys, for Governor ; Kinloch Falconer, for 
Lieutenant-Governor ; J. L. McCaskill, for Secretary of 
State ; Thos. T, Swann, for Auditor of Public Accounts ; 
A. P. Slover, for State Treasurer ; Charles E. Hooker, for 
Attorney-General, and D. P. Bestor for Superintendent of 
Education. 

Humphreys and Hooker entered upon a canvass of the 
State, while their associates were active in localities where 
they were called. 

The canvass was prosecuted with great vigor, the Demo- 
crats contesting every inch of ground, knowing they had a 
majority of probably twenty thousand to overcome. This 
estimate includes the whiles then disfranchised. 

Pending the canvass Ord was superseded by General 
McDowell, who, on assuming command, issued an order 
removing Governor Humphreys and Colonel Hooker, who 
was at the time Attorney-General of the State, from their 
offices as impediments to reconstruction, and appointed 
Adelbert Ames Governor of the State. 



ADELBERT AMES AS MILITARY GOVERNOR. 

The Democratic canvass was made under the direction 
of Gen. John D. Freeman, Chairman of the Democratic 
State Executive Committee. 

Governor Humphreys refused to obey the military order 
of McDowell, but continued to discharge the duties of his 
office. 

Col. Biddle, armed with an order from General Ames, 
called at the Executive office and demanded of the Gov- 



380 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

ernor a surrender of it and the archives of the State ; and 
if refused, notified him of the hour at which he would seize 
them. Before the hour of seizure arrived the Governor 
invited Dr. M. S. Craft, Marion Smith, Oliver Clifton and 
Wm. F. Fitzgerald to be present and witness what occurred. 
At the appointed hour the military officer with a file of 
soldiers appeared at the Executive office to carry into exe- 
cution the order mentioned. On renewing his demand he 
was informed by the Governor that his force was insuffi- 
cient to take possession of his office ; the officer's deport- 
ment was that of a gentleman, and he inquired what force 
would be necessary, and was informed that the Governor 
would be the judge of that ; immediately thereafter the 
officer returned with a military company, marched them 
into the Executive office, and instructed their commander 
to permit any one who desired to pass out, but allow no 
one to come in. Soon after this order and demonstration, 
the Governor, accompanied by his private secretary, went 
to the Attorney-General's office, and on his return at the 
door of his own office he was ordered to " halt" at the point 
of two bayonets. Upon inquiry of the sergeant what 
that meant, he was kindly informed by the sentinel that 
his orders were to allow no one to enter the office, and that 
it was a military order from his superior officer that he was 
compelled to obey. The Governor was thus ejected from 
the Executive mansion. 
Referring to this proceeding Governor Humphreys said : 
"I knew it was futile to disobey these orders, and that I 
must succumb, but I had the honor, the dignity, property 
rights, and the sovereignty of the State to guard, and I 
was determined to maintain those rights and yield noth- 
ing except at the point of overpowering bayonets, and that 
the world should know that I yielded not to civil process, 
but to stern, unrelenting military tyranny." 

The ejection of Governor Humphreys from the Executive 
office and the Governor's mansion was followed by the 
military administration of Adelbert Ames, whose career 
constitutes a dark and disgraceful page in the State's his- 
tory. Adelbert Ames was born in the State of Maine in 
1835, and at the age of thirty-four years the fortunes of 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 381 

war found him in this State, a Lieutenant-Colonel in the 
regular army, and a Brevet Major-General of volunteers, 
appointed military Governor of Mississippi. A young man 
without experience in civil polity, he was utterly unfitted 
for the discharge of the duties assigned him. The gigantic 
task of putting in operation the machinery of a State 
government was beyond his capabilities, and to make it 
more embarrassing, he was unable to divest himself of the 
passions and prejudices engendered during the war against 
Southern white people, and the further fact that he was 
surrounded and controlled by corrupt influences rendered 
him obnoxious to those who bore the burdens of govern- 
ment. The charge was openly made by the press and 
speakers of the Democratic party during the canvass con- 
ducted under the auspices and direction of Ames, as mili- 
tary Governor, that his object was to have his tools and 
minions returned to the Legislature that he might be re- 
warded, not only for his fealty to them, but as well, for 
his slanderous official report touching the condition of Mis- 
sissippi aflairs. Leading Republicans, and Ames himself, 
denied the accusation, but its truth was established by his 
election to the Senate of the United States in 1870. His 
administration as Military Governor was characterized by 
an utter disregard of law, stupidity and oppression, and 
when superseded by civil government the people felt that 
they were rid of a withering, blighting curse. 

On the 15th of January, 1870, he transmitted to the Leg- 
islature copies of the fourteenth and fifteenth amendments 
to the Constitution of the United States, which the two 
houses on that day ratified according to the prescribed 
terms of a resolution of Congress. 

His reign as Military Governor was drawing to a close, to 
the gratification of the intelligent people of the State. Ex- 
amples of his bad conduct were many and disgraceful. 
He appointed, in 1869, one of his minions probate judge, 
and president of the board of supervisors in Rankin 
county, who during his official term as such appointee, 
was, on a preliminary examination, found guilty of ob- 
taining money under false pretenses, and also of embezzle- 
ment. For the latter offense he was held to bail in the 



382 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

sum of two thousand dollars, and failing to give the required 
bond he was lodged in jail. His appointee for sheriff, one 
Corliss, was also in the custody of a special officer for 
obtaining a county warrant fraudulently, and for subor- 
nation of perjury. Pending the trial of these two officials, 
Governor Ames sent a company of United States troops, 
under command of one Major Rosencranz, and stationed 
them at Brandon. Major Rosencrantz demanded and 
obtained possession of the jail key, and with a squad of 
soldiers took the probate judge out of jail and escorted 
him to the courthouse, when a soldier with a musket in 
hand opened court (it being Monday of the regular term), 
and in a short time the same soldier adjourned court until 
the next regular term. 

The imprisoned judge and sheriff were carried away by 
military force without consultation with the civil authori- 
ties, and given their freedom, both of whom went beyond 
the confines of the State and never returned. Kindred 
audacious insults and lawless conduct were inflicted upon 
the people of a number of counties in the State, notably, 
Choctaw, Yalobusha and Monroe. His high-handed 
tyranny was remembered in Copiah county, where twenty- 
five or more substantial and respectable citizens, without 
authority of law, but to gratify his caprice, and to meet the 
wishes and complaints of treacherous renegades and negro 
politicians, were arrested and imprisoned. 

For the purpose of giving a further exhibition of his 
power, and to increase his methods of oppression, he dared, 
in violation of the Federal Constitution, and every State 
Constitution in America, to arbitrarily suspend the writ of 
right, the writ of habeas corpus, when there was neither 
a rebellion or invasion, nor the public safety threatened. 



THE ADMINISTRATION OF GOVERNOR ALCOKN. 

James L. Alcorn, a native of the State of Illinois, but 
educated in Kentucky, and for fifty years a resident of 
Mississippi, was elected Governor of Mississippi in Novem- 
ber, 1869, as the candidate of the Republican party, and 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 383 

thus became the nineteenth chief magistrate of the com- 
monwealth, and the first chosen under the constitution 
formulated in 1868. 

On the 10th day of March, 1870, he was inaugurated, and 
in his address of that date, he said : 

"The military government, which I have the happiness 
to bow this day out of the State, was no more a subject of 
pleasure to me than it was to any other Mississippian 
whose blood glows as mine does, with the instinct of self- 
government." 

Governor Alcorn was elected as a Republican. He had 
been a life-long Whig, a trusted leader of his party, and 
assumed that he could serve the State in his chosen new 
role. Possessed of strong will-power, bold, able and adroit 
in debate, he conceived the idea of dividing the white peo- 
ple, and especially entertained the hope that many of his 
old Whig followers would join him. His scheme seemed 
to be for the white people to join the National Republican 
party, get control of the negroes, and administer the State 
government in the interest of the people. White Demo- 
cratic voters were not in temper to embrace such a radical 
change, nor did they believe that the negro could at that time 
be won from his tyrant master, the carpet-bagger. 

In acknowledgment of his elevation he announced "that 
the ballot box, the jury box and the offices of the State 
should be thrown open to the competent and honest, with- 
out distinction of color." 

Two months previous to his induction into office he wrote 
to Hon. Geo. W. Harper, a prominent citizen of Raymond, 
in which among other things he stated, "I am a man of the 
day. In the last contest I inquired not where the man 
battling at my side was born. I asked him not when he 
came into the State. * * I did not pause to look into the 
face of the man who fought under the banner I bore, and 
still bear, to ascertain the color of his skin. * * * By 
my honesty in dealing here with them, I challenge their 
honesty in dealing with me, and expect if they come over 
to me, they will do so in perfect good faith, as members of 
the great Republican party of the State and Nation." 

He recommended a well equipped military command, 



384 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

coupled with a secret service fund, to be placed at Ms dis- 
posal, thus establishing a character of espionage which 
caused to be visited upon him, on the part of the people, a 
condemnation which required years to eradicate. It will 
be remembered that previous to his occupancy of the 
gubernatorial chair he had been elected United States 
Senator. 

Many well informed citizens suggested at the time of the 
Governor's transfer to a new and different field, that it was 
a shrewd move on the part of the Radical plunderers to get 
rid of him. They esteemed him a bold, fearless, talented 
man, whose education and training were those of a gentle- 
man, and that service at Washington would separate him 
from old associates and friends to whose influence he 
would be subjected. To whatever the motives the Radicals 
in the Legislature, or the Governor himself may be ascribed, 
the truth remains, but for the power of the military, 
neither Gen. Alcorn or himself would have been chosen, 
for neither would have received the endorsement of the 
white people — the former, because his scheme sought to 
destroy the Democratic party, the only political organiza- 
tion that had capacity or hope to regain and establish a 
local State government under which intelligence and civili- 
zation could prosper. Ames was not even a citizen of the 
State, so declared by Messrs. Conkling, Edmunds and 
Trumbull, distinguished Republican lawyers, and members 
of that body into which he was attempting a burglarious 
entrance. 

Governor Alcorn's fatal step was accepting the leader- 
ship of a characterless bard of interlopers and plunderers, 
supplemented by the great body of negroes. 

They were incompatible elements, the one sought plun- 
der, and when this could not be obtained, he was ready to 
bow himself out of the country. The other had staying 
qualities, but was powerless to contribute anything to the 
intelligent administration of government. 

Governor Alcorn remained in the executive office until 
his departure for Washington to assume the duties of United 
States Senator. He was succeeded by Lieutenant-Gov- 
ernor R. C. Powers, who assumed the duties of chief magis- 
trate of the State. 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 385 

THE ADMINISTRATION OF GOVERNOR R. 0. POWEKS. 

Governor Powers was a Northern man, and a, volunteer 
soldier, amiable and courteous. He was a property owner 
and tax-payer, and seemed satisfied to continue the line of 
policy inaugurated by his chief. His administration was 
marked by less lawlessness than that of Ames, and towards 
its close he manifested a desire to co-operate with the 
white people, and return to economical government, but 
his surroundings rendered him powerless to do much m 
that direction. 

Governors Alcorn and Ames were occupying their seats 
in the United States Senate. The former, a man of high 
bearing, wealthy, full of courage, proud and imperious, had 
a contempt for the pretentions of the latter, and asserted, 
in substance, on the floor of the Senate, that Ames was a 
fraud, that his poverty of intellect was only equalled by 
his arrogant assumption of unauthorized powers; that 
he was not, and never had been, a citizen of Mississippi. 
Ames made the best reply he could, but was no match in 
debate for his opponent. The estrangement and breach 
between them culminated in both declaring themselves can- 
didates for Governor of the State. A number of white 
Republicans advocated the election of Alcorn, while Ames 
was supported by the extreme Radicals, who controlled in 
a great measure the negroes. 

This was the political situation in the spring of 1873, 
when the Democratic party were considering and discuss- 
ing the expediency of pretermitting nominations for State 
officers in the election to come off in the fall of that year. 

In accordance with party custom, and to settle questions 
of difference, the Democratic party assembled at Bennett's 
Hall, in the city of Meridian, on the 17th of September, 1873. 
At 11 o'clock A.M. of that day, Robert Lowry, of Rankin 
county, chairman of the Democratic State Executive Com- 
mittee, called the Convention to order, making a brief ad- 
dress, in which he recommended deliberate action, and 
generous concessions, the outcome of which he believed 
would give success to the party. Col. R. 0. Reynolds, of 
Monroe, was made permanent chairman of the Convention. 
25 



386 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

After a thorough and exhaustive discussion of the politi- 
cal situation, in which a number of prominent delegates 
participated, the following resolution, offered by Hon. 
Jeff. Wilson, of Pontotoc, was adopted by a vote of one 
hundred and one to forty-five, to wit : 

^'Resolved, That it is the sense of the Democratic party of the 
State of Mississippi, in Convention assembled, that it is inex- 
pedient in the approaching State election to nominate a State 
ticket." 

The adoption" of this resolution left the gubernatorial 
contest to be determined between the Republican candi- 
dates. Alcorn was the leader of the conservative wing of 
his party, and insisted upon the observance of law and 
order, while General Ames was the recognized leader of 
brute force, and if clothed with authority, was ready to 
inaugurate a species of tyranny and oppression that would 
drive struggling property holders from the State. The 
gubernatorial contest grew fierce and bitter. The negroes 
with their few white carpet-bag leaders constituted the fol- 
lowers and supporters of Ames, whose candidacy created 
grave fears in the minds of the white people throughout 
the State. The Democratic party,, as a choice between the 
candidates, gave their support to Governor Alcorn, for the 
reason that he was an old citizen of the State, largely inter- 
ested in its material development and welfare, and in every 
view vastly preferable to his opponent for official station. 
Ames was elected. In the meantime Governor Powers re- 
garded the election just held as illegal ; that the election 
laws on the statute books were conflicting, and that the 
election for State officers should have been deferred until 
November, 1874, and as a consequence Ames and his as- 
sociates should not quality. Governor Powers urged this 
view in a carefully prepared message to the Legislature, 
which he had assembled in extra sessign. All parties de- 
sired an early settlement of the question, which was very 
soon determined by the Supreme Court adversely to the 
views enunciated in the Governor's message. With the 
announcement of this decision Governor Powers retired, 
and was succeeded by Adelbert Ames. 



CHAPTER. XX. 



THE ADMINISTRATION OF GOVERNOR AMES. 

A DEL BERT Ames was elected Governor by the Repub- 
lican party, composed chieiiy of negroes and carpet- 
baggers, in November, 1873, was inducted into office in Jan- 
uary, 1874, and thus became the twentieth chief magistrate 
of the commonwealth, and the second chosen under the 
constitution formulated in 1868. 

The administration of Adelbert Ames developed but 
little improvement on his career as Military Governor. 
Corrupt and ignorant officials were supported in their 
methods of robbery. The people were threatened with 
military force. Federal and State. The burden had become 
so great that there was a general uprising of the people 
throughout the State. In December, 1874, the Governor 
convened the Legislature in extra session. The assembling 
of that body was based upon the alleged disorders and 
race troubles in Warren county, when in truth the people 
of that county had repeatedly endeavored, in a lawful way, 
to suppress the systematic robbery carried on by county 
officials. But even with the high rate of taxation neither 
county liabilities were lessened, nor improvements made, 
but the money extracted from the tax-payers went into the 
pockets of irresponsible vagabond office-holders, who were 
foisted upon the people and whose bonds in many instances 
were utterly worthless. 

The tax-payers were called by the Governor "insurgents," 
because they demanded fair dealing and honesty in the 
administration of the county government. Their reason- 
able demands were treated with scorn by the plunderers, 
who felt not only indignant, but outraged, that citizens 
who were being fleeced of their substance should offer the 



4t' 



388 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

slightest remonstrance, l^epeated complaints made by- 
white Democrats failed to elicit any response, but finally 
culminated in a number of tax payers repairing to the 
court-house and demanding of their oppressors to give new 
and sufficient bonds or a surrender of their trust. The 
result of this demand was an armed body of negroes 
marching from every direction upon the city of Vicksburg. 
These infuriated negroes, instigated and encouraged by 
their leaders, expected an easy victory, but instead, met 
with a decisive and disastrous repulse. The paramount 
object of the Executive was to organize and discipline 
militia commands, and to have the vaults of the treasury 
opened — that peace, as defined by him — might be restored 
and preserved. The assembling of the Legislature con- 
temporaneously with an appeal of the Executive to the 
President of the United States for Federal interference, 
the continued lawlessness of county officials, the letter of 
Lieutenant-General Sheridan to the Secretary of War 
suggesting that persons in the States of Louisiana, Arkan- 
sas and Mississippi should be tried as banditti, by a 
military commission, served to make up and present the 
issues sharply between carpet-bag plunderers and the white 
tax-payers of this State. Mississippians were not un- 
mindful of the magnitude of the contest. They marshaled 
their forces, and presented an unbroken column of deter- 
mined men. Tax -payers' Conventions had been held in 
almost every county in the State, with the firm intention 
of correcting existing, and preventing future abuses. It 
was, indeed, an uprising of the people, embracing minis- 
ters of the gospel, lawyers, doctors, farmers, merchants 
and mechanics, all contributing their full share in the great 
reform column. Th^ battle cry was "Down with radical- 
ism, misrule, tyranny and oppression." On the 4th of 
January, 1875, the Convention of Tax-payers of Mississippi 
met in the hail of the House of Representatives. The 
Convention was called to order by Hon. W. L. Nugent, 
upon whose motion General W S. Featlierston, of Mar- 
shall, was elected chairmen. The Convention presented a 
petition to the Legislature, showing the true condition of 
the State. They said that the general poverty of the people 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 389 

and depressed value of all property, and the rate of taxa- 
tion, made it an intolerable burden, and much beyond their 
ability to pay. They insisted that exorbitant expenditures 
must cease, or the means of the people would be exhausted. 
As an evidence of the extraordinary increase in taxation 
they cited the following : 

In 1869, the State levy was 10 cents on the dollar of 
assessed value of lands. For the year 1871, it was four 
times as great. For 1872, it was eight and a half times as 
great. For the year 1874, it was fourteen times as great as 
it was in 1869. They asserted that the tax levy of 1874 
was the largest State tax ever levied in Mississippi, and 
that the people were poorer than ever before. They stated 
that in many cases the increase in the county levies, for 
the same period, was still greater. The petition was 
lengthy, and gave the true status of affairs in an able and 
respectful manner, but they were called by Governor Ames 
"howlers." 

The people had borne wrongs so long, and submitted to 
taxation that would amount, if continued, to confiscation, 
that they resolved that the robbery should cease. They 
were more than willing to contribute the required sum for 
legitimate purposes, to conduct the government econo- 
mically in the interest of those who owned it, but they 
solemnly protested against appropriations for keeping up 
a standing army or loyal newspapers, or paying for monu- 
ments to negroes of the Jim Lynch cast, or for annual 
sessions of the Legislature, composed in the main of aliens 
and negroes. The fixed determination of tax-payers was 
that profligate expenditures should end, and they refused 
to pay any tax other than that reasonable amount neces- 
sary for the support of the government, and fair warning 
was given the wreckers of their intentions, and if reduc- 
tions were not made, they would pay no taxes at all. In 
the language of the ex-Secretary of the Interior, Hon. 
Jacob Thompson, "Rather than continue to toil from year's 
end to year's end, and have all the fruits of their labor 
seized for the enrichment of the spoilsmen, who are roll- 
ing in wealth on their hard earnings, our people will imi- 
tate the example of the Blind Giant, and pull down the 



390 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

pillars of the edifice, that the torturers, as well as the tor- 
tured, may be involved in the ruin." 

The Tax-Payers' Convention, held at the Capital of the 
State, resulted in the organization of tax-payers' leagues, 
which were intended to be consolidated into a State organ- 
ization, to check the process of confiscation inaugurated 
by the Radical party. 

The Democratic State Convention assembled on the 3d 
of August, 1875. Nearly every county was represented. 
It was an assemblage of delegates of more than usual in- 
telligence. General and ex-Governor Charles Clark was 
made chairman, and Col. J. L. Power, Hon. J. L. McCas- 
kill and Paul A. Botto were secretaries. The platform 
adopted was broad and conservative. All citizens who fa- 
vored honest, impartial and economical government were 
invited to participate. Biennial sessions of the Legisla- 
ture, an able and competent judiciary, a discontinuance of 
special and local legislation, protests against the arming 
of militia in times of peace, and the attempted passage of 
the Metropolitan Police Bill, were among the resolutions 
adopted. The platform also favored the encouragement of 
agriculture by securing the farmer and laborer the just re- 
wards of their toil, the elevation of the standard of official 
character, etc. 

Hon. L. Q. C. Lamar addressed the Convention, and for 
more than two hours was listened to with the greatest in- 
terest. Hon. J. Z. George was elected chairman, and 
Marion Smith secretary of the State Executive Committee. 

On numerous test votes in previous Legislatures, Demo- 
crats voted for economical government, while negroes and 
their white co-adjutors alligned themselves on the side of 
robbery and plunder. 

Democratic meetings were daily held in almost every 
part of the State. Ex- Governor and ex Senator A. G. Brown 
offered a resolution at a public meeting in Terry that 
showed the earnestness and determination of property 
holders to check the wholesale robbery of the party in 
power. The resolution was in the following words : 

Eesolved, That without equivocation, and without mental reser- 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 391 

vation, we intend to cany out the principles enunciated in the 
platform of the Democratic party at Jackson on the 3d day of 
August, 1875, and to this we pledge our lives, our fortunes and 
our sacred honor. 

The Republicans were the authors of the ''color line," 
which was clearly enunciated in the eleventh article of the 
platform adopted at Jackson on the 29th of August, 1873. 
The resolution was as follows : 

That we recognize no distinctions as now existing by law in 
the right of all the children of the State to equal privileges and 
access to all public schools, colleges, or universities, and should 
any of said institutions deny to any child, on account of race or 
color, equal rights, we pledge ourselves to enforce such rights by 
appropriate legislation. 

On the 1.5th of August the Democratic Executive Com- 
mittee issued an able and spirited address to the people 
of the State. It referred to the gubernatorial chair being 
filled by an alien and adventurer, who held the constitu- 
tion and laws in contempt ; and the people of the State be- 
ing classed as banditti, and threatened with trial before 
military commissions. The address was concluded by 
citing the naval battle between the fleets of Great Britain and 
France, when Lord Nelson said, ''England expects every 
man to do his duty," and "in this contest Mississippi ex- 
pects each of her sons to do his duty ; brace up old age to 
one more effort, nerve manhood to put forth all its 
strength, and incite youth to its noblest enthusiasm." 

On the 23d day of August, 1875, the Hon. Wiley P. 
Harris, confessedly the ablest lawyer in the State, a gentle- 
man "native here, and to the manner born," addressed a 
public meeting held in the city of Jackson, in an argu- 
ment of rare power and eloquence. Judge Harris was lis- 
tened to with the most wrapt attention and interest, and 
the more so, that except on occasions of great emergency, 
it was the modest habit of the speaker to keep well in the 
back ground, and not to thrust himselt constantly and 
prominently before the public. His calm, philosophic and 
statesmanlike utterances stirred the hearts of his auditors 
profoundly. Aside from their wisdom and prudence, the 
speaker was not only recognized as a great jurist, of a 
most judicial temper, but a gentleman of unblemished 
honor, a patriot "without guile," great kindness of heart 



392 HISTOKY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

and integrity of purpose in all things. The fact was also 
recognized that Judge Harris was decidedly averse to the 
holding of any public office, that he looked with ill con- 
cealed contempt upon the tawdry gauds of official station, 
and that unless some great and threatening danger, some 
serious menace to the prosperity of the State and the hap- 
piness of her people, were impending, every one knew in- 
stinctively that Wiley P. Harris would not be present as a 
member of any convention or public meeting. 

As this speech of Judge Harris is the most forcible pre- 
sentation of the condition of Mississippi under carpet- 
bag and alien misgovernment, a quarter of a century ago, 
it is embodied in this volume for the purpose of remind- 
ing the future generations of Mississippians, that the best 
and only safeguard of liberty and home rule, is "eternal 
vigilance." The speech of Judge Harris was in the follow- 
ing language : 
Jilr. President and Gentlemen : 

I am here to respond to an invitation to address you on politi- 
cal affairs. It costs me nothing to confess that your invitation 
found me pre-disposed to accept it. My impressions of the polit- 
ical situation are such that I have felt an anxious desire for a full 
and frank interchange of views. At no time since the war have 
I felt greater need of that sure-footed leadership which takes no 
false step. At no time since the war has there been greater need 
in all of us of that profitable wisdom which distinguishes the 
things which ought to be done, and can be done, from the things 
which cannot be done, and therefore ought not to be attempted. 
It is apparent that there now exists, in the minds of a majority 
of the leaders of opinion among our fellow-citizens of the North, 
a dispo^tion to rectify the mistakes and abuses in the conduct of 
public affairs in the South, and to extend to a cruelly misgov- 
erned people such measures of relief as lies within the limits of 
the constitution as it now stands. No statesman of any party, 
North or South, meditates a step beyond this fixed boundary. 
Within that boundary the nation has resolved that there shall be 
a heart}', honest and sincere effort to solve the social and politi- 
cal problems which the results of the war have presented to us. 

The relief which we may fairly expect, and which by prudence 
we can secure, consists in non-intervention by the National Gov- 
ernment in the domestic affairs of the State, except in the cases 
falling strictly within the letter and spirit of the constitution ; 
and in allowing those in whom are found intellect, patriotism, 
true public spirit and true knowledge of the real aims and pur- 
poses of government, to take the lead in government here; not 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI, 898 

for repression or exclusion, but for control and guidance ; so that 
the government shall exhibit in its action the true spirit and 
genius of the people, in their morality, in their industries, in 
their enterprises, and in their hopes and aspirations. This result 
is to be accomplished here b}'^ the same means by which it is ac- 
complished everywhere in the United States, and wheresoever 
tolerable and respectable popular government exists; and that is 
by allowing the class of citizens I have indicated, to impose the 
same limitations, by the same means, which they impose every- 
where on an ignorant majority. 

Whether or not we need more than this, and whether we shall 
need more than an impartial and not unfriendly National adminis- 
tration may be willing to allow in that direction, is for the nation 
to decide. Certain it is that no other relief can be hoped for 
until we shall, by a perfectly faithful effort, have demonstrated 
that more is needed. And here let me observe that both classes 
of our citizens are, in a certain sense, on trial before the Ameri- 
can people. It is perfectly obvious that while the people of the 
North are convinced of gross mismanagement under the recon- 
struction laws, they are far from being convinced that there has 
been any mistake in requiring the constitutions of the Southern 
States to rest on the basis of impartial suffrage. 

They do complain of unwise conduct on the part of the whites, 
making, however, due allowance for the circumstances ; but 
chiefly do they complain of the unwarrantable intermeddling of 
the National administration, which, instead of aiming to make 
our newly made fellow-citizens good and useful citizens, sought 
only to make of them obedient Eepublican voters. They reason 
as may be supposed, in this way : The government of the United 
States withstood the shock of a gigantic civil war, and came out 
of the struggle, not only without having suffered any displace- 
ment, and without having been driven to revolutionary action, 
but with increased strength and power — more power and author- 
ity than it had ever before possessed — indeed, judging by what 
it was enabled to do, and did do, with more power than any 
civilized government of this day would venture to exercise. It 
was absolute master of the situation, and was more thoroughly 
obeyed than the best fortified government in Christendom. 

It proceeded to spunge out the constitutions of eleven great 
commonwealths, to overturn their governments, to reverse their 
social systems, and in effect to prescribe new constitutions for 
them. Unfortunately, the party which controlled it sought to 
exhibit and did exhibit it, only in its aspect of boundless authori- 
ty. In their hands it seemed to have unlimited power to tear 
down and to wound, without the power to build up and to heal. 
Confronted by the most novel and formidable social and political 
problem ever presented to the statesmanship of any country, 
and which, God be praised, can never again be presented in this, 
they recklessly turned over the Southern States, thus dislocated, 



894 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

as so much food to the lowest grade of hungry partisanf, leav- 
ing the adjustment of the grave difficulties involved in these 
great fundamental changes, to the most ignorant, narrow-minded 
and selfish class of men that ever bore swa}'^ in any country — 
men afflicted with what appears like moral idiocy, and to whom 
the sense of public duty is as color to the blind. It is not to be 
wondered at that these men at once formed a partnership with 
the newly enfranchised slave, (a most unequal partnership, as it 
has turned out), to capture and to "run" the State governments 
of the South. That which has followed might have been fore- 
seen. The marvelous rapidity with which a people recover from 
the effects of wars more desolating than ours has excited the 
surprise of mankind. Look at France, where the energies of a 
people, their public spirit, their industries and their intelligence, . 
wielded by high administrative abilit}', joined to exalted patri- 
otism, caused a postrate country to rise and stand upon its feet, 
in the course of three j^ears. Maucaulay tells us that within the 
space of five years all traces of the great civil war of Crom- 
well's time, a war which involved every foot of English soil, and 
every English family, were obliterated. Ten years have passed 
over us and our fruitful land, yet we are in a dead lock, confined 
to a "dead eddy," while all the world is passing by us on the 
great highway of progres. Our ship of state is becalmed by 
something like that baleful and deadly calm which tell upon the 
doomed ship of Coleridge's "Ancient Mariner.' She lies mo- 
tionless on the stagnant sea, unmoved bj" wave, or wind or tide. 
Still as death she lies, like "a painted ship upon a painted ocean." 

What at the beginning Avas supposed to be a magnificent ex- 
ample of the inherent capacity of Republican institutions to 
work out the most difficult problems of human society and gov- 
ernment, under this vicious management begins to look very 
much like a stupendous blunder, or it may be said that it appears 
like some fantastical and cruel experiment, wantonly to test the 
amount of strain which human society can bear. Not the Na- 
tional Democracy only, not the Southern Conservatives only, 
but a large section of the Republican party, without any excep- 
tional sympathy for the South, consisting of men of the very 
best class, feel this condition of things to be a reproach to Ameri- 
can statesmanship. I speak of the Liberal Republicans, or as 
thej' style themselves, independent voters. The position of this 
section of the Republican party is of the highest importance to 
the whole country, but especially to us. They oppose the Re- 
publican party under its present leadership, because it has made 
government a mere system of rewards and punishments for party 
service and disservice, regardless of the public service, because 
of its gross corruption and because of its gross mismanagement 
of Southern affairs. I think I state this attitude correctly. 

Now we oppose the Republican party here and at Washington 
for precisely the same reasons, and we have no other issue. This 
has swallowed up all others. We have the faith that honest and 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 395 

capable government will cure our grievances. My conviction is 
that at this juncture the Southern people who agree with these 
Eepublicans on these issues ought to invite a union with thera, 
and united with them co-operate with the national Democratic 
party hencetorth. I have more faith in this combination than 
in any other. By this union I mean a union for all purposes, 
^responsibilities and honors. A union with the Democratic party 
only will give rise to a suspicion which, though unfounded, will 
be cherished. If we would have a liberal and permanent policy 
as respects ourselves, in a national administration, we must have 
the assent of a majority of the Northern people. It is needless 
to give the reason — we all understand it. We can attain that 
majority through the aid of the liberal Eepublicans only. All 
parties trust them, and speaking for mj'self, and putting the 
matter forward as a suggestion, I think it would be at once a 
graceful as well as a wise step. If the Southern representatives 
in the National Convention would urge the recognition of the 
Liberal Eepublicans as an element of the combination for the 
campaign of 1876 — not a recognition at the polls only, but a 
recognition which will carry with it the acknowledgment of a 
right to share in the honors as well as the responsibilities of the 
administration, which by their aid we hope to place in power — 
I am sure any party or anj^ combination will be strengthened 
and enriched by their accession. It appears to me to be highly 
desirable that they should take part in any national administra- 
tion, so far as we are concerned, and so far as the whole country 
is concerned. At a time when we were in despair, when Louisiana, 
Arkansas and Alabama, (to saj^ nothing of our own peril), were 
about to be subjected to military rule, and their governments to 
be upset or suspended, the active interposition of the Liberal 
Eepublicans actuallj' averted the danger. Who is there hero 
that does not feel that he is more secure in his rights because of 
the firm attitude of those Eepublicans? This section of the Ee- 
publican party is powerful in influence and numbers. It in- 
cludes in its ranks the acknowledged head of the most powerful 
of the lay professions of the United States, William M. Evarts. 
It includes one of the wisest, purest and most eloquent statesmen 
of his time — Carl Schurz. It includes that statesman and diplo- 
matist, the distingished head of the illustrious family of Adams. 
Its principles and policy are expounded and enforced by that 
marvelous product of modern free thought, a great newspaper — 
3'es, the greatest newspaper on this continent. There is not a 
true man in the South who will not gratefully remember the 
New York Tribune to the end of his life. It is difficult to over- 
estimate the debt we owe to that powerful journal. In the hour 
of our sore distress it was as the "shadow of a great rock in a 
weary land." 

The North is reluctant to trust the settlement of the Southern 
question to the Democratic party, and the Southern conserva- 
tives are unwilling to trust the South-hating party, led by such 



396 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

men as Morton, of Indiana. Both are willing to trust it to the 
Liberal Eepublicans. It does seem to me that the task has legit- 
imately devolved upon them ; and no more tempting field was 
ever oifered to liberal, patriotic ambition. To reconcile and 
nationalize the South, to lead it out of the cul de sac of sectional- 
ism into the broad stream of national life, to give it a consti- 
tutional footing in the Union, to restore peace, good will and 
confidence between the members of this great family of States, 
will lay the solid and durable foundation of a party which will 
surely win and long retain the hearts of the American people. 
This combination will give us an impartial administration. We 
want no more, for that will be followed by a better government 
here. 

For one, I long to see a government at Washington, and a gov- 
ernment here, toward which I can feel a genuine sentiment of 
reverence and respect. It is a dreary life we lead here, with a 
national government ever suspicious and ever frowning, imperi- 
ous and hostile, and a home government feeble, furtive, false and 
fraudulent. Under, such influences the feeling of patriotism 
must die out amongst us, and this will accomplish the ruin of a 
noble population. You might as well destroy the sentiment of 
religion as the sentiment of patriotism, for human character is a 
deformity if either be wanting. There can be no objection to 
this overture on our part. We are as near to the Liberal Eepub- 
licans as we are to Governor Tilden and the New York Democ- 
racy, so far as I can see, unless we put into the estimate the 
fact that one was anti-slavery before the war, and the other 
was not, and one favored the reconstruction laws, and the other 
opposed them. They both preferred war to the destruction of 
the Union. But we would be blind to make any such distinc- 
tion. We are in a new world. We are moving on a new plane. 
It is better that we hang a mill-stone about our necks than cling 
to these old issues. To cling to them is to perpetuate sectional 
seclusion. Of all things it will not do to fall into a hypocon- 
driacal condition in politics. I pity the man who in a great cri- 
sis says to himself: "I can't go there, because there is the old 
Whig line, nor there because that is the Eepublican line, nor 
there beet use I will be compelled to cross the Democratic line." 
It sometimes happens that a man gets himself into such a condi- 
tion of mental delusion that old party lines or names are to him 
like running water to a witch. Under some mysterious law or 
eccentric antipathy he can't cross them. It matters not where 
duty commands him to go, or on what mission of patriotism he 
may be proceeding, if he chances to find one of these lines in 
his path, he is brought to a dead halt, and must needs turn and 
retrace his steps. 

At this juncture and ci'isis of our affairs, from sentimental 
politics, from unreasoning antipathies, and from all uncharitable- 
ness, may the Lord deliver us. Party fidelity is, in the proper 
sense and at the proper time, a manly virtue ; but there are times 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 397 

when it must give place to the paramount considerations of duty. 
I do not deride party traditions. I cherish them myself. What 
I mean is that we can't make National anthems out of them. 
"The harp is hushed, the minstrel gone." 

Neither the conservative people of the South, nor the National 
Democracy, nor the Liberal Rej)ublicans, propose, separately or 
in combination, to make any issue with our newly created fellow- 
citizens about their personal, individual rights, civil or political. 
They, in common with Mr, Morton, and the South-hating wing 
of the Republican party, may have doubted the wisdom of the 
measure which endowed them with the ballot, but the question 
stands before us now in a very different light. They, (the 
colored people) pined for freedom, but did not seek the ballot. 
It was thrust upon them. They have enjoyed it, or used it for 
seven years. They are a tractable, and, unless misguided, harm- 
loss people. It would be a hard measure to take from them the 
ballot. Really it rests altogether with them and the American 
people how long they will keep it. We can't deprive them of it. 
But the American people do make the issue with them, which 
they make with any class of men who use the ballot to degrade 
the institutions and destroy the property of the country. 

Yesterday my eye fell upon this very significant passage in the 
"Nation," a Republican, but non-partisan journal of the very high- 
est rank, and noted for the judicial fairness of its treatment of 
political and all other questions : 

"You must excuse us, but we have got over the idea we once 
had, that when you hear that a man is free, you need ask no 
more about him. We have been taught by bitter experience that 
it is also necessary to ask what use he has made of his freedom?" 
This ominous question will sooner or later, if matters continue to 
go on here as they do now, be asked by the American people of 
our newly made fellow-citizens. Here they have an immense 
majority; they have majorities in four or five Southern States. 
It so happens that the States have languished and lagged in the 
race, just in proportion to the number of colored voters in each. 
This is an ominous fact. It refutes the public falsehood which 
has been resorted to by the few remaining Radical coteries in the 
South, that the whites, if in power, would take away freedom of 
the ballot, or otherwise oppress the colored people. Have they 
in Virginia, in Tennessee, in G-eorgia and other States where 
the whites control the government, attempted to oppose the 
colored voter? I assure you that the fact has become known at 
last to the American people, that the only oppression in the 
South, is the oppression of the whites by colored majorities led 
by Radicals. To my mind it has now become clear as the noon-day 
sun that the only intimidation here is the intimidation by a few 
hundred Radical adventurers of the whole population. With un- 
paralleled audacity they threaten the whites with the Federal 
bayonet, and assuming that they alone can secure Federal aid, 
they threaten the colored people that they will desert them and 



398 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

take from them this protection, so that they will be turned over 
to the white people, who, as they falsely assert, will reduce them 
to a condition as bad as it was before emancipation. During 
last summer the colored people in Vickaburg undertook to assert 
their political independence. They nominated their own men 
for the offices of the city. It gave great offense to the carpet- 
baggers. The nominations were bad; not exceptionally so as 
Kadical nominations, but they lacked the usual proportion of 
carpet-baggers. 

The nominations by the Democrats were good. The Radicals — • 
the carpet-baggers — stood aloof. They threw cold water on the 
movement of the colored men. A prominent Eadical told me the 
colored men's movement ought to be defeated. It was defeated, 
as it should have been. When the news reached the city, (I 
make the statement from report and therefore give no name), a 
prominent Radical said, rubbing his hands, "I am glad of it. 
This will teach the colored people that they can't do without the 
carpet-baggers." This sheds a flood of light on the relations of 
the partners who captured Mississippi. I repeat, therefore, that 
the American people are watching the result of a doubtful ex- 
periment. Even now they ask of the newly enfranchised, what 
use have you made of freedom and the ballot so generously be- 
stowed ? To whom and to what have you dedicated them ? Do 
you wield the weapon, more powerful in the hands of free and 
independent voters than an "army with banners," for your coun- 
try's good, or have you ignorantly surrendered it slavishly to 
the dictation of a few hundred selfish and incompetent men ? If 
you have used it wisely, show us the State in which you control, 
where there is the least sign of prosperity, or the faintest glim- 
mer of the light of honest or intelligent government. We are 
guardians of all the country — of its honor and its interests. We 
cannot allow you or any class of citizens to bring disgrace on 
republican institutions, or ruin on any part of this, our great 
inheritance. What answer can be made for them? It is noto- 
rious that they have patiently submitted to a political servitude, 
which in its absolute subjection has no parallel. The mass of 
them don't vote, but are literally voted. They are ridden and 
driven by a little nest of men who are alien to the State in feel- 
ing. I say in feeling because they habitually traduce the State 
when they go abroad. What has been the result? We have 
governments feeble and corrupt, presenting a strange anomaly 
pregnant with insignificance. A representative government ren- 
dered entirely irresponsible by the operation of the ballot and 
the representative principle in it. The voters don't control their 
rulers. The rulers drive the voters. The result is a govern- 
ment at once imperious and contemptible, a tyranny at once 
loathsome and deadly. 

But say our Radical rulers: "Look at the government of Mis- 
sissippi and see if there be not this glimmer there." I confess I 
don't see it. I have no great experience of government, but I 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 399 

have never conceived that anything like it was possible in a re- 
public. Colonel Lamar, whose word goes a long way, said the 
other day in his speech, that it was the worst government on the 
face of the eai'th. The statesmanship of it has reached no higher 
than the levying of taxes, the issue of State warrants, and the 
funding thereof. This might be borne, but ttie taxation is ruin- 
ous, while the credit of the State is sinking under corrupt and 
wasteful expenditure. The people murmur and the world scoffs 
at it. True, Governor Ames is pleased to say that these murmurs 
are a disgusting sham. "I pay more taxes than these howling 
tax-payers." When I read that part of his testimony in the 
Vicksburg case, I was reminded of a passage in the book of Job. 
Job had been stripped of his wealth, and of his children, and 
afflicted in many ways; and he cried out in his agony. His com- 
forters said to him: " You are a howler;" and Job replied, 
"Does the wild ass bray when he hath grass? or loweth the ox 
over his fodder ? " The oflSce-holders and fee and salary men 
don't howl ; they have both grass and fodder. 

One more subject I will touch before concluding, and that is, the 
charge brought against us of iinfriendliness to people simply as 
Northern people, our disposition to ostracise them socially, and 
to persecute them in every way. This is called disloyalty. There 
is a class of people in the United States who have made the art of 
manufacturing and spreading falsehoods, and public falsehoods at 
that, take rank amongst the great industries of this busy people. 
A distinguished man to whom I made this remark, said : "Yes, 
and you may say that there is a prodigious and highly cultivated 
talent for believing falsehoods, which nourishes the industry." 

On this matter of social ostracism, I have this to say : If any 
two hundred Southern men, backed by a Federal administra- 
tion, should go to Indianapolis, turn out the Indiana people, take 
possession of all the seats of power, honor and profit, denounce 
the people at large as assassins and barbarians, introduce corrup- 
tion in all branches of the public administration, make govern- 
ment a curse instead of a blessing, league with the most ignorant 
class of society, to make war on the enlightened, intelligent and 
virtuous, what kind of social relations would such a state of 
things beget between Mr. Morton and his fellow-citizens and the 
intruders? When these people first flocked into the State, they 
thought, or assumed, that they represented the majesty of an 
offended nation, and like the order of men to which they belong, 
expected to act the part of public patrons, to be surrounded by 
clients, and to pass amongst us, amid salams and genuflections; 
but they were instantly undeceived. 

We have ever since the war prayed earnestly that the true 
representatives of the Northern people might come among us — 
their mechanics, their farmers, their professional men, the repre- 
sentatives of their industries. We got only the " chevalier d' 
Industrie", and we know him at sight. A gentleman, a Eepubli- 
can, visiting the South last winter to satisfy himself on this and 



400 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

other points, said : "When I saw the great 'ostracised' and re- 
flected upon what they had done here, I said to myself, these men 
would be ostracised anywhere." They have diligently labored 
to create the belief that Northern men cannot live here without 
humiliation, and without danger of violence. Now the class of 
men we want, they don't want. That is clear. Their Commis- 
sioner of Immigration has, for agricultural and " other pur- 
poses," introduced three thousand colored men into the State, 
and not a single white man, unless it be some vagabond who 
wanted a free passage. They say to the Northern men, " Be- 
ware of man-traps and spring guns." To the negro — come on, 
there is no dangc r. Truly there is none. Does it not stand to 
reason that if we can tolerate the class of Northern men we have 
here as rulers, we can tolerate the Northern farmers or mechanics, 
or professional men as neighbors ? 

All this wretched and contemptible drivel passes now for noth- 
ing with the real men of the North. The Eadical coterie here but 
poorly represents the Northern people. They miserably miscon- 
ceive them. The plain truth of the matter is, these men wish to 
disguise what it is that carries men to Virginia, Greorgia, Tennes- 
see and the arid plains of Colorado, and prevents them from com- 
ing to this fruitful land. It is just this. No sane man being well 
out of Mississippi with his wife, children and property, would trust 
them to the tender mercies of such a government as we have 
here. It is pretended that a narrative of the lives of these so- 
called persecuted men, if put into a book, would shelve Pox's 
book of martyrs. Now let me ask if the most pronounced car- 
pet-baggers and South-haters here, look like persecuted men ? 
They grow so rapidly in sleekness and fatness that I have to be 
introduced to them over and over again, they do so improve out 
my acquaintance Minds at ease and consciences at rest is writ- 
ten in their "placid" countenances. Yet they cry out like St. Paul, 
"verily I die daily." Good-natured fellows they are, too, in their 
way. There is an old adage which says that, " a man is good 
after being fed." 

I assure these men that their last card has been played, and it 
has not won. This trumpery no longer deceives anybody, and 
it matters not which party prevails in 1876, no National adminis- 
tration will again incur the odium of propping them up. When 
the sap no longer flows into the stem they will drop from it. 
They will die of inanition — of atrophy. 

This tyranny and oppression widened the breach be- 
tween Ames and the property holders of the State. In 
their opposition to his usurpations they alleged that he 
was not even a qualified elector, and, applying the consti- 
tutional test, was at most a de facto officer. True, he was 
at one time marked as a registered voter in Adams county, 
but on a revision of the registration his name was stricken 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 401 

from the books as a non-resident. The canvass of 187f> 
was inaugurated with a fixed determination to no longer 
submit to the disgrace of being ruled by aliens, negroes 
and wreckers. Old men left their homes and were found 
in the thickest of the fight, and not infrequently upon the 
hustings, encouraging young men to battle for consti- 
tutional liberty. Clubs were formed and aliriost daily re- 
inforced. Ames made frequent application to the Presi- 
dent of the United States for troops to suppress alleged 
violence in various parts of the commonwealth. 

Gen. George, the chairman of the Democratic Executive 
Committee, wired the Attorney-General of the United 
States, that there were no disturbances in Mississippi, and 
no obstructions to the execution of the laws. President 
Grant refused to interfere, assigning as a reason that the 
country was tired out with these annual autumnal out- 
breaks in the South. The Washington authorities, of 
course, were fully advised of the mal-administration, ignor- 
ance and corruption on the part of the Radical office- 
holders in Mississippi. Ames's continued applications for 
United States troops to assist him in his warfare, induced 
Judge Pierrepont, the Attorney-General of the United 
States, to send C. K. Chase, Esq., a gentleman of intelli- 
gence and good address, to Mississippi to learn and report 
to him the true status of affairs. Prior to this time, on 
Saturday, the 4th day of September, 1875, the Clinton riot 
occurred. It had been extensively published that there 
would be a Radical mass meeting and barbecue at Clinton 
on that day, to which all, irrespective of party, were in- 
vited. 

Judge Amos R. Johnston, a distinguished and widely 
known lawyer, was the Democratic candidate for State 
Senator for the counties of Hinds and Rankin. He attended 
the Clinton meeting and had concluded his speech, and 
was being replied to by H. T. Fisher, a Republican, when 
the fight began. There are two versions of the origin of 
the trouble, but both concur that the fight was precipitated 
by the negroes. The first shot fired was followed by vol- 
ley after volley, when the few whites charged the negroes 
who broke in a disorderly retreat. The whites soon real- 
2e 



402 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

ized that their pistols were emptied, and their ammunition 
exhausted, that they numbered only twenty-five, and the 
negroes two thousand, they ceased pursuit and moved in 
the direction of the town. When this was observed by the 
negroes the cry went up, "Kill the white men, they are 
running," a call was made for Republicans to charge, to 
which more than three hundred responded. The whites 
who were making their way to the town were re-enforced 
by citizens of the place, when the negroes ceased pursuit. 
Young Mr. Thompson* and Mr. Sively, of Raymond, became 
separated from their comrades, made their way into an 
open field probably a mile and a half from the speaker's 
stand, where they were overtaken by the negroes and bru- 
tally murdered. Mr. Charles Chilton, a peaceable citizen 
of the town of Clinton, was killed in his own yard by the 
infuriated negroes. Telegrams were sent from Clinton to 
Vicksburg, Jackson, Edwards and other places for re-in- 
forcements. In response to which companies from the sev- 
eral places were soon on the ground. The negroes of the 
vicinity who had had no connection with the riot received 
protection from the whites and remained at their homes. 
This trouble was followed by the congregating of a great 
number of negroes from the country about the Governor's 
Mansion, and it was understood were seeking arms with 
which to fight. The white people were determined to pro- 
tect themselves but if possible to avoid a race conflict. The 
sheriff of Hinds county, one Harney, a negro, knowing the 
temper of the white people, sought an interview with Cap- 
tain Frank Johnston who commanded the Jackson com- 
pany which reinforced Clinton. Captain Johnston was 
known to be a lawyer of distinction, prudent, conservative 
and fair-minded, and through him sherifl" Harney made 
known his desire for a conference of leading men of the 
tw^o races ; this well-timed request was accepted and re- 
sulted in an agreement for terms of peace, which, on Cap- 
tain Johnston's return to Clinton, was heartily approved 
by the people. 

What was termed the Yazoo riot occurred about the same 
time, and was caused by an intemperate and inflammatory 
harangue of A. T. Morgan, a white man, sherifi" of the 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 403 

county, who had married a negress. During the Yazoo 
trouble some few persons lost their lives, while Morgan 
brought his case to Ames and invoked his interference. 
Ames desired to re-install Morgan, even if it required the 
invasion of the county with negro militia. As an experi- 
ment Ames dispatched Chas. Caldwell's company of negro 
militia out to»Yards Clinton and Edwards, and it was 
thought with a view of invading Yazoo county. Not- 
withstanding this insult and menace, the white people 
were counseled to observe peace, but it was an open 
secret that they were prepared to protect themselves, and 
even at this late day it is not improper to say that if 
negro troops had invaded Yazoo county, it would have 
been purely accidental if a single man had been left to 
bear the tale to his tyrant master. All of these occurrences 
were made known to Mr. Chase, the accredited representa- 
tive of the Department of Justice, who had frequent and 
prolonged conferences with the leaders of the contending 
parties. During Mr. Chase's stay at the Capital, a meet- 
ing was arranged for the 20tli of October, between a com- 
mittee of citizens and the Governor, in the interest of 
peace and order. The committee consisted of J. Z. George, 
Frank Johnston, Joshua Green, W, L. Nugent, T. J. 
Wharton, John W. Robinson, H. Hilzheim, E. Richardson, 
R. L. Saunders, J. C. Rietti, David Shelton and Robert 
Lowry. The meeting was held in the parlor of the Gov- 
ernor's Mansion. Terms were reached^and mutual pledges 
given. After the conference with the Governor a cit- 
izens' meeting was held at Angelo's Hall, with Profes- 
sor Rice, of Clinton, in the chair. The result of the 
conference with the Governor was made known, which 
was that the militia was to be disbanded, and the arms in 
their possession placed in the custody of United States 
troops. That the Governor had countermanded the order 
for the shipment of arms to De Soto county, and that no 
militia would be ordered to Yazoo. The committee pledged 
that peace and order would be observed and maintained. 
From that date the Radical ranks were broken, the leaders 
on the run, and a Democratic victory almost achieved. 
Barbecues, basket-dinners, etc., were the order of the day. 



404 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

Hundreds and thousands of negroes had united with the 
army of whites. On the day of election the Democrats 
presented an impregnable column of determined men, and 
won a victory, the importance of which was incalculable. 
After the smoke of battle had cleared away, the better 
opinion prevailed that Lieut.-Governor A. K. Davis, and 
T. W. Cardoza, State Superintendent of Public Education, 
both colored men, would be impeached. 

Less than one week after the election, a Democratic 
meeting, held in one of the counties of the State, passed 
the following resolution: 

'-'- Resolted^ That we desire that Governor Ames will 
persevere in the measures of retrenchment and reform, 
heretofore recommended by him and calculated to lighten 
the burdens of the people ; and we hereby respectfully 
request our Representatives in both branches of the 
Legislature to give to him their confidence and support in 
all matters of State policy designed to advance the true 
and permanent interest of the State ; and, furthermore, 
and as the sense of this meeting, it is right that the past 
be forgotten, and that the Chief Executive of the State, 
the Legislature, and all others of the State, act henceforth 
in union and harmony and with an eye single to the pub- 
lic good." 

Resolved, That the Clarion be requested to copy the 
above. 

That gifted and experienced journalist, patriot and sturdy 
statesman. Major E. Barksdale, then editor-in-chief of the 
Clarion, indulged in the following comments on the reso- 
lution quoted : 

"We will not be understood as expressing any opinion 
calculated to forestall the action of the people's represen- 
tatives in arraigning Governor Ames for his numerous, 
repeated and flagrant violations of the Constitution, to the 
great detriment of the State. The Legislature cannot pass 
over without impartial and fearless inquiry his violations 
of the Constitution. This is no occasion for sentimentalism 
nor time-serving expediency. It is for the representatives 
of the people, to whom the whole subject has been remit- 
ted, to decide. We will abide their verdict but will not 
consent to forestall it." 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 405 

This was the first published utterance that looked for- 
ward to the impeachment of Governor Ames, the propriety 
and expediency of which was questioned by many promi- 
nent citizens, among whom were a number of able and 
distinguished lawyers. But the accomplished author of 
the suggestion followed it up, supporting his position with 
unanswerable arguments. The view was assuming shape 
that he would be impeached. The charges previously 
made by the distinguished editor of the Clarion, supported 
by additional reasons, were given publicity through the 
columns of that journal, which insisted that he had "for- 
feited his claims to the office whose functions he had 
abused, and not to dislodge him from the office is to admit 
that the charges repeatedly made against him are false. 
It is an affront to common sense to say that offfenses with 
which he is charged are not impeachable." 

The Legislature met on the 4th of January, 1876. The 
Senate was called to order by Lieutenant-Governor A. K. 
Davis. Judge Simrall of the Supreme Court swore in the 
newly elected members. D. P. Porter was elected Secre- 
tary. 

The House was organized by the election of Hon. H. M. 
Street, Speaker, by acclamation. Major Geo. M. Go van 
was elected Clerk by acclamation. On the same day the 
Governor transmitted his message to the two Houses. 

Instead of complying with the requirements of the Con- 
stitution "to give the Legislature information of the state 
of the government, and recommend to their consideration 
such measures as he deemed necessary and expedient," he 
indulged in traducing the white people of the State, repeat- 
ing slanders the falsity of which he himself knew. 

This unprecedented message called forth a most scath- 
ing preamble and resolution from Senator John W. Fewell, 
of Lauderdale county. 

On the 6th of January General W. S. Featherston, of 
Marshall, offered a resolution, which was adopted, to in- 
quire into the official conduct of Adelbert Ames, and to 
report to the House whether there were grounds for his 
impeachment for high crimes and misdemeanors. The fol- 
lowing day resolutions were adopted to investigate charges 



406 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

alleged in the public press and otherwise against T. W. 
Cordoza, Superintendent of Public Education of the State, 
and A. K. Davis, Lieutenant-Governor of the State. 

Upon the tiling of the articles of impeachment against 
T. W. Cordoza, he at once addressed a communication to 
Hon. H. M. Street, Speaker of the House, asking permis- 
sion to resign the office of State Superintendent of Educa- 
tion, and that the proceedings against him be dismissed 
with the consent of the Senate. The proceedings took 
that direction, and the negro Superintendent made his 
exit from the State, seeking other and more congenial 
tields. 

The committee appointed to investigate the charges 
against Lieutenant-Grovernor Davis exhibited and sub- 
mitted five articles of impeachment, all of which related to 
one matter, in which he was charged, while acting as Gov- 
ernor, during the absence from the State of Adelbert 
Ames, Governor, with accepting a bribe and pecuniary 
reward to induce him, as such acting Governor, to grant a 
pardon to one Thos. H. Barrentine, charged with the mur- 
der of Ann Thomas, in the county of Lowndes. Davis 
denied the charges and went to trial before the Senate, sit- 
ting as a court ot impeachment. After a full and patient 
hearing he was found guilty, removed from office, and dis- 
qualified from holding any office of honor, trust or profit. 

The adoption of the resolution heretofore offered by 
General Featherston was followed by articles of impeach- 
ment against Adelbert Ames, Governor of the State of 
Mississippi, and presented by the managers on the part 
of the House of Representatives, who appeared at the bar 
of the Senate, on 14th of March, 1876. The managers 
were accompanied to the Senate chamber by the Speaker 
and members of the House. After taking the seats as- 
signed them within the bar of the Senate, Mr. Manager 
Featherston announced that by order of the House of 
Representatives the managers were ready, when it was the 
pleasure of the Senate to hear them, to present articles of 
impeachment preferred against Adelbert Ames, Governor of 
the State of Mississippi. The Sergeant-at- Arms having made 
proclamation and commanded silence, Mr. Manager Percy 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 407 

rose and read twenty-one articles of impeachment, each 
charging him with being unmindful of the high duties of 
his office, his oath of office, and the requirements of the 
Constitution of the State, alleging that the offenses 
charged in the several articles of impeachment were either 
a high misdemeanor or a high crime in office. 

The first article charged that he wilfully and corruptly 
refused to suspend W. M. Connor, sheriff and tax collector 
of Noxubee county, who had failed to pay over public 
funds belonging to said county to the treasurer thereof. 

The second article charged that he had corruptly, for 
partisan purposes, and in violation of the Constitution, 
appointed justices of the peace in Washington countj^ 
with intent to degrade the sovereignty of the State, and to 
bring the law into contempt among her citizens. 

The third article alleged that he unlawfully and cor- 
ruptly approved the bond of M. L. Holland, whom he had 
appointed Treasurer of the State, for the sum of $80,000, 
upon which bond the sureties had failed to justify, as pro- 
vided by law. 

The fourth article charged that he permitted M. L. Hol- 
land, Treasurer of the State, to remain in office in posses- 
sion of all the monies, bonds and papers belonging to the 
State, when he was advised in writing by the Attorney- 
General of the State that the bond of Holland was insuffi- 
cient to authorize him to act as such Treasurer. 

Article 5th, that he wilfully and corruptly caused A. J. 
Flanagan, sheriff of Warren county, to be ejected from 
his office by United States soldiers, who were instigated by 
his directions. 

Article 6th charged that he corruptly assented tt), and 
assisted in, perpetrating a fraud on the State, which re- 
sulted in a loss of $33,750.00. 

Article 7th charged that he wilfully and corruptly per- 
verted and abused the power conferred upon him by law, 
over the convict labor of the State, by the approval of 
certain bonds, contracts and papers, for partisan purposes. 

Article 8th charged that he corruptly and in violation of 
the constitution, permitted and consented to an exchange 
and swap of their respective positions as public officers 



408 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

between a chancellor and district attorney of the State. 

Article 9th alleged that he neglected and refused to send 
his nominations of chancellors to the Senate at the regu- 
lar session, in the year 1874, as required by law, which 
refusal was with intent to destroy the independence of the 
judiciary, and make chancellors and judges subservient to 
the Executive will, for corrupt and partisan purposes ; 
that he appointed chancellors after the adjournment of 
the Senate, thereby usurping powers in violation of the 
constitution. 

Article iCth alleged that he endeavored to persuade and 
induce E. G. Peyton, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, 
to control the decisions and decrees of W. B. Peyton, a 
son of the Chief Justice, and at that time Chancellor of 
the 16th District, in a certain case then pending in the 
chancery court of Hinds county, before the said W. B. 
Peyton, styled the University of Mississippi, et al., vs. 
the Vicksburg and Natchez Railroad, et al. 

Article 11th charged that because of rulings and decrees 
made by W. B. Peyton, that were personally distasteful 
to Adelbert Ames, Governor, that he corruptly worked for 
and effected the removal of said W. B. Peyton from his 

said office. 

Article 12th alleged that unlawfully and in violation of 
the constitution, he issued an order for the removal of W. 
A. Drennan, from the office of chancellor of the 12th dis- 
trict, for the reason that on the trial of a writ of habeas 
corpus, sued out by a personal friend and political parti- 
san of the said Ames, one A. T. Morgan, charged with the 
murder of T. B. Hillard, sheriff of Yazoo county. Chancel- 
lor Drennan had refused to grant Morgan bail and re- 
manded him to jail. 

Article 13th alleged that he had issued an order for the 
removal of Thos. Christian from the office of chancellor of 
the 4th chancery district for the reason that Chancellor 
Christian declined to be used as a party tool, or to permit 
his high office to be used by Ames or his party friends for 
political purposes. 

Article 14th alleged that he issued an order in writing 
for the removal of J. F. Simmons from the office of chan- 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 409 

cellor of the I'Jth district, Chancellor Simmons having 
been appointed and commissioned to said office. 

Article 15th charged that he wilfully, corruptly and for 
partisan purposes, appointed to judicial positions men 
who were notoriously incompetent, immoral and dishonest. 

Article 16th alleged that being, by virtue of his office, 
commander-in chief of the militia of the State, and a con- 
servator of the peace, did, on the 10th of October, 1875, 
with intent to produce a conflict of arms between the two 
races, cause a company of militia composed of negroes, 
whose captain was one Chas. Caldwell, a notoriously dan- 
gerous and turbulent man of that race, to march with guns 
as an escort of a wagon train containing arms, from Jack- 
son to Edwards Depot, and to parade the streets of Clin- 
ton on their line of march, intending to provoke law-abid- 
ing citizens to wrath and violence, and to a collision with 
the negro militia. 

Article 17th alleged that he delivered intemperate and 
inflammatory speeches in the presence of negroes with a 
view and intent of bringing on an armed conflict between 
the races. 

Article 18th charged that the advice given Peter Crosby, 
concerning the office of sheriff of Warren county, and the 
intemperate and inflammatory speech made in his, Crosby's, 
presence, caused a riot in said county of Warren, on the 
7th of December, 1874, between the races, in which many 
of the citizens were wounded and slain. 

Article 19th alleged that intending to stir up strife be- 
tween the races, he corruptly counseled and advised Peter 
Crosby to organize, without authority of law, an armed 
body of men and forcibly take possession of the sheriflPs 
office of said county, which Crosby attempted on the 7th 
day of December, 1874, in pursuance of said advice to do, 
which caused a riot, bloodshed and death among the peo- 
ple of said county. 

Article 20th charged that the advice given Crosby was 
for corrupt and partisan purposes. 

Article 21st charged that he advised Crosby to possess 
himself of the office of sheriff, books, papers, charge and 
control of the court-house and jail, and all of the actual 
insignia of said office, against any opposing authority. 



410 HISTORY OB' MISSISSIPPI. 

On March 16th, 1876, the Senate met as a court of im- 
peachment. Chief Justice Simrall entered the Senate 
chamber with Associate Justice Peyton, and announced 
that he had been elected Chief Justice of the State in ac- 
cordance with the constitution and laws, and that he was 
now ready to proceed with the trial of Adelbert Ames, 
Governor. The oath was administered to the Chief Jus- 
tice by Associate Justice Peyton. Chief Justice Sim- 
rall then administered the oath to the Senators. Adel- 
bert Ames, Governor, was summoned to appear before 
the c£)urt next day. On the 17th, Thomas W. Durant, of 
counsel for Governor Ames, appeared and asked live days 
to answer the articles of impeachment, which was granted, 
and at the same time, three days given the managers in 
which to reply. On the 20th of March, the court of im- 
peachment was opened, when managers Featherston, 
Percy, Tucker, Barksdale, Muldrow and Spight, entered 
the bar of the Senate and took the seats assigned them. 
Messrs. Durant and Pryor of counsel for defendant, ac- 
companied by Mr. Clancey, appeared and took their seats 
within the bar. Manager Featherston, on behalf of his 
associates, sent to the secretary's desk a paper to be read, 
expressive of the desire of the House of Representatives in 
the matter of impeachment of Adelbert Ames, Governor, 
which was as follows : 

"Whereas, assurances have been received by the House 
ot Representatives of the State of Mississippi, that Adel- 
bert Ames, Governor of said State, but for the pending 
against him of articles of impeachment exhibited by the 
House of Representatives, would have resigned his office 
as Governor, and will now do so, as the managers are in- 
formed, by a letter addressed to his counsel, Messrs. 
Durant and Pryor, by said Ames, read to the said House, 
a resolution adopted directing its managers " to dismiss 
said proceeding. Now, therefore, Be it resolved by the 
House of Representatives of the State of Mississippi, that 
the managers on the part of this House, in the matter of 
impeachment of Adelbert Ames, Governor ot' said State, 
be and they are hereby directed to dismiss the said articles 
against the said Adelbert Ames, Governor, as aforesaid. 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 411 

and heretofore exhibited by them against him at the bar 
of the Senate." 

Upon the reading of the foregoing resolution from the 
House of Representatives, the following order was made 
by the court : "That articles of impeachment heretofore 
preferred by the House of Representatives against his 
Excellency, Adelbert Ames, be, and the same are hereby 
dismissed, in pursuance of the request of the House of 
Representatives, this day presented by the managers in 
their behalf." After the reading of this order, Hon. 
Thomas J. Durant, of counsel for respondent, read the fol- 
lowing : 

"ExKcuTivE Office, ) 

Jackson, Miss., March 29, 1876. | 

To the people of the State of Mississippi : 

I hereby respectfully resign my office of Governor of the 
State of Mississippi, Adelbkrt Ames." 

And Mr. Durant requested that the same be recorded in 
the office of Secretary of State. 

An order was made that the resignation of Adelbert 
Ames, Governor, be entered upon the Journal of the Sen- 
ate sitting as a Court of Impeachment, and the original 
be filed in the office of Secretary of State. After the read- 
ing of this order, Mr. Pryor, of counsel for defendant, 
arose and said : 

" Mr. Chief Justice and Senators :— At the instance of 
my learned associates I rise merely to return to the Chief 
Justice and the Senators, the expression of our grave sense 
of the courtesies and kindness which we have received, 
both from the learned Chief Justice and Senators, and 
especially from our honorable adversaries, the managers 
on the part of the House." 

The Court then adjourned sine die. 

Thus closed the long saturnalia of vice, the frightful 
carnival of crime. Thus ended the rule of ignorance over 
intelligence, of vice over virtue. Thus the people, rising 
in the majesty of their might, became an avenging Neme- 
sis, pursuing their oppressors until they took refuge be- 
yond the borders of Mississippi. 



412 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

The resignation of the office of Governor by Adelbert 
Ames, on the 29th day of March, 1876, was an act of neces- 
sity. In performing that act Grovernor Ames drained to the 
dregs the bitter cup of humiliation. In signing the letter 
of resignation his cheeks must have been mantled writh the 
crimson blush of shame, and his heart wrung with an 
agony almost insupportable. By that act he discarded all 
the lessons inculcated at West Point, all the pride of the 
soldier, all the manly impulses of a gentleman. By his 
resignation he tacitly entered the plea of "guilty" to all 
the charges preferred against him. His resignation "un- 
der charges" was in violation of every precept of honor 
taught at West Point, in violation of every manly senti- 
ment felt by all honorable, high-spirited gentlemen in the 
army of the United States. In resigning, in the face of 
the charges of impeachment presented against him, Adel- 
bert Ames must have known that he was degrading him- 
self in the eyes of all honorable men. He must have 
known that he was affixing his signature to the record of 
his own infamy, and branding with ineffaceable ignominy 
all those who bear his name. 

The people of Mississippi remember the career and rale 
of Governor Ames, as men and women remember a frightful 
dream. They look back to the long, weary night of despot- 
ism, rapine and plunder, inaugurated by that petty pro- 
cousol of a hostile government, and thank with renewed 
fervor the good God that inspired them with the necessary 
courage to redeem the fairest land that the sun shines on, 
and rescue the children of the patriotic men and women 
who were born free, from a worse than Egyptian bondage. 



CHAPTER XXI. 



THE ADMINISTRATION OF GOVERNOR STONE. 

JOHN M. Stone, a native of the neighboring State of 
Tennessee, born in Giles county in the year 1830, but 
for many years a citizen of Tishomingo county, Missis- 
sippi, became the twenty-first Governor of the common- 
wealth, and the fourth under the Constitution formulated 
in 1868 and adopted in 1869. 

John M. Stone entered the Confederate service as a com- 
pany commander in the Second Regiment, Mississippi In- 
fantry, and after the resignation of Col. Wm. C. Falkner 
became the Colonel of that regiment. He served through- 
out the entire war, and earned the reputation of being a 
courageous, zealous and patriotic soldier. On more than 
one occasion he commanded the brigade to which his regi- 
ment was attached, in action with the enemy. 

At the close of the war Col. Stone was elected by the 
people to the position of Treasurer of Tishomingo county. 
In 1875, the year of the great redemption of Mississippi, he 
was elected by the people of Tishomingo county as their 
representative in the State Senate. When the Legislature 
assembled in January, 1876, Senator Stone was elected 
President pro tempore of the Senate, and after the convic 
tion and removal of Lieutenant-Governor Davis, and the 
resignation of Governor Ames — under charges of impeach- 
ment — succeeded to the chief magistracy of the common- 
wealth. 

Col. Stone became Governor at the termination of a great 
revolution, after seven years of misrule, outrage and rob- 
bery. It was no easy task to bring order out of the chaos 
which was characteristic of the governments of the South- 
ern States during the period of reconstruction. For the 



414 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

most part, the public offices of the State, and a large num- 
ber of the county offices were tilled with men whose only 
object seemed to be to outrage, oppress and to plunder the 
people. The Governor, however, was a calm, resolute, 
sensible and honest man, and he was zealously sustained 
by an exceedingly intelligent, able and patriotic Legisla- 
ture. Before the united and harmonious co-operation of 
the legislative and executive branches of the government, 
all difficulties disappeared as rapidly as mist before the 
morning sun. 

The two years incumbency of Governor Stone was so 
satisfactory to the people in the peace and order that had 
fallen upon every county in the State, in the reduction of 
the ruinous rates of taxation, and in the economy which 
had been enforced in every department of the government, 
that Governor Stone was nominated for election to the 
office of chief magistrate for the full constitutional term of 
four years. He was elected in November, 1877, and was 
inducted into office in January, 1878. 

How Jno. M. Stone performed the onerous duties ini 
posed upon him, the people of Mississippi know full well. 
He gave to the State able, learned and honest judges, as 
well of the inferior courts, as of the supreme tribunal of 
the last resort. Governor Stone by his judicial appoint- 
ments elevated the character of the courts of the State to 
a plane they had not known since the accursed reign of 
radicalism began. 

During the administration of Governor Stone the Leg- 
islature established the Agricultural and Mechanical Col- 
lege, near Starkville, and it was immediately put in opera- 
tion under the able supervision of its President, General 
Stephen D. Lee, under whose wise management it has at- 
tained phenomenal success, and has led to the organization 
of many similar institutions, particularly in the Southern 
States of the Union. 

Governor Stone, after an interval of eight years, was 
elected to the chief magistracy of the commonwealth in 
November, 1889, as the successor of Governor Lowry, and 
was inducted into office in the January following. 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 415 

THE ADMIISriSTRATION OF GOVKRNOR LOWRY. 

Robert Lowry, a native of Chesterville District, Soutli 
Carolina, was brought, when a child, to Tishomingo county, 
Mississippi, by his father, and afterwards, when a mere boy, 
removed to Smith county, to reside with his uncle. Judge 
James Lowry. He was elected to the position of Gov- 
ernor in November, 1881, and was installed in office in 
January, 1882, as the successor of Governor Stone, thus 
becoming the twenty-second chief magistrate of the com- 
monwealth, and the fifth under the Constitution adopted 
in 1869. 

Robert Lowry entered the Confederate army as a private 
in Company B, in the Sixth Mississippi Infantry. Upon 
the organization of that regiment he was elected to the 
position of Major, and upon its reorganization after the 
battle of Shiloh, Col. Thornton, because of wounds having 
retired, was elected to the Colonelcy. In 1864, he was 
appointed to the rank of Brigadier-General, which position 
he continued to hold until the termination of the war. 

After the close of hostilities General Lowry represented 
the people in both branches of the Legislature. He was 
nominated as a candidate for the office of Attorney-Gen- 
eral, against his protest in the Convention, on the Inde- 
pendent ticket headed by Mr, Louis Dent in 1869. in oppo- 
sition to the ticket led by James L. Alcorn, and of course 
was defeated. 

During the first term of the administration of Governor 
Lowry the Industrial College for Girls was established and 
put into successful operation at Columbus, and its benefi- 
cial results have thus far exceeded the most sanguine hopes 
of its founders. 

The East Mississippi Insane Asylum, at Meridian, was 
also put into operation during the first term of Governor 
Lowry. A Railroad Commission was also created during 
his first term. 

It is fair to presume that the administration of Governor 
Lowry was satisfactory to the people, for he was renomi- 
nated and re-elected by an increased popular majority. 

During the eight years incumbency of the executive 



416 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

office by Governor Lowry— double the length of time of 
any of the early Governors, and two years longer than his 
immediate .predecessor, Governor Stone— there were more 
miles of railroad builded in Mississippi, than during the 
administrations of all his predecessors from the organiza- 
tion of the State government down to the time he came to 
be Governor. 



CHAPTER XXII. 



EDUCATIONAL PROGRESS IN THE STATE. 

EDUCATION is closely connected with the happiness, 
prosperity and progress of a free people. The oft 
repeated adage, "the greater the ignorance, the greater the 
safety," is only applicable to monarchical governments, 
where general intelligence and learning are (sonsidered dan- 
gerous and destructive elements of government. But the 
theory of this government is unlike that of any other, in, 
that all power is vested in the people; the purpose being, 
with proper restraints, to extend and enjoy the greatest 
amount of liberty. This being the paramount object, all 
classes feel that the blessings and advantages of education 
cannot be overestimated; hence it is, that the ablest English 
and American authors, who have written on the subject, are 
constantly consulted by those who have adopted teaching 
as a profession; the desire being to arrive at the best 
methods for developing the mind and for moral and physi- 
cal training. 

With the experience of more than a century, the verdict 
of the average American is, that the people are capable of 
self-government, and the science, if any there is in govern- 
ment, consists in imposing the lightest burdens upon the 
people and administering the government honestly. All 
power being inherent in the people, education is absolutely 
necessary for its exercise. 

In considering this important subject, which has at all 
times not only invited, but commanded the best considera- 
tion of scholars and lawmakers of the State, it is well to 
refer to the ordinance of 1787, which sounded the key-note, 
and gave direction to most of the States of the Union in 
this regard. In the discussion of this ordinance in the 
Senate of the United States in 18.>(), Daniel Webster, in 
27 



418 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

reply to Mr. Hayne, of South Carolina, on the "Foote" 
resolutions, said : 

"But this ordinance did that which was not so common, 
and which is not even now universal : that is, it set forth 
and declared as a high and binding duty of government 
itself, to encourage schools and advance the means of 
education ; for the plain reason that religion, morality and 
knowledge are necessary to good government, and to the 
happiness of mankind." 

The Constitution of Mississippi, adopted in 1817, under the 
head of general provisions declared : '^Religion, morality 
and knowledge being necessary to good government, the 
preservation of liberty and the happiness of mankind, 
schools and the means of education shall forever be en- 
couraged in this State." The same provision was made in 
the Constitution of 1832, and in that of 1868 it is thus pro- 
vided : "As the stability of a republican form of govern- 
ment depends mainly upon the intelligence and virtue of 
the people, it shall be the duty of the Legislature to en- 
courage, by all suitable means, the promotion of intellec- 
tual, scientific, moral and agricultural improvement, by 
establishing a uniform system of free public schools, by 
taxation or otherwise." 

It will thus be seen that the principle enunciated in 1787, 
was not only accepted, but engrafted in the first organic 
law of Mississippi, copied word for word in the Constitu- 
tion of 1832, and left practically unchanged by the Consti- 
tution of 1868. 

In 1802 Jefferson College in Adams county was incorpo- 
rated, and in all these years has been a valuable institu- 
tion of learning. 

From 1809 to 1815 charters were granted to schools 
in Claiborne, Wilkinson and Amite counties. While 
Lowndes county formed a portion of Monroe, Franklin 
A cademy of Columbus was founded. This antedates any 
school of note in North Mississippi, and was a free school 
for a quarter of a century before any other of like char- 
acter in the State. 

In 1826 the Port Gibson Academy, (first called Clinton), 
and what is now the Mississippi College at Clinton, (then 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 419 

Mount Sains), were incorporated. The latter was under 
the control of the Presbyterian church at one time, but 
forty years ago was transferred to the Baptist denomina- 
tion, under whose management it has been most successful, 
and contributed largely to the cause of education and is 
now under the management of Rev. Dr. Webb, a distin- 
guished Baptist divine and educator. 

Among the seminaries of learning that have contributed 
largely to the education of the daughters of the State, is 
the Central Female Institute, at Clinton, under the direction 
of Rev. Walter Hillman, LL. D., president. This school 
was organized and founded in 1853. and three years later 
passed under the control of Dr. Hillman, who is a native of 
the Island of Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts. Mrs. 
Hillman, a lady of superior attainments, who has devoted 
her life to the cause of education, was a teacher in the col- 
lege one year before her husband was chosen president. 
Doctor Hillman is a thorough scholar, and the institute 
over which he has so long and successfully presided num- 
bers its alumnffi not only in many counties in the State, 
but quite a number in adjoining States. 

It is a singular fact, that during the four years of war 
this Institute never closed its doors a day on account 
of it, notwithstanding both armies were a number of times 
in possession of Clinton. The Mississippi College and 
the Institute are under the supervision of the Baptist de- 
nomination and to their conduct and success Clinton is in- 
debted for the high character it enjoys as an educational 
centre. 

Oakland College, in Claiborne couDty, was established in 
1830, under the auspices of the Presbyterian church, its 
first president being Rev. Jeremiah Chamberlain, a gentle- 
man of superior scholastic attainments, under whose man- 
agement the institution prospered for many years. 

Hon. Jas. M. Smiley, a native of the State, a lawyer by 
profession, who was chosen first as vice-Chancellor, and 
subsequently as Circuit Judge, received the first degree 
conferred by that institution. 

Among the seminaries of learning largely patronized 
nearly fifty years ago was the Montrose Academy in Jas- 



420 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

per county, conducted by that distinguished divine and 
educator, Rev. Dr. John N. Waddel. Dr. Waddel was sub- 
sequently elected Chancellor of the University of Missis- 
sippi, in which position he remained for many years, 
honored and beloved by the student- body and highly es- 
teemed throughout the State. 

Forty-five years ago, in Covington county, Zion Seminary 
was founded and placed under the control of Rev. A. R. 
Graves, a Presbyterian minister of learning and great 
energy of character. The location was healthy and the 
school was well managed and largely attended. At this 
day it may be safely said that no institution of learning 
in South Mississippi added more to the culture and im- 
provement of the country than did Zion Seminary. Mr. 
Graves tinally moved to the State of Missouri, and one of 
his sons, born in Covington county, was chosen as a mem- 
ber of Congress from that State. 

A number of schools were incorporated prior to and 
during 1829. 

In the year 1830 the population of the State was 
136,000. On the 28th of September of that year the treaty 
of Dancing Rabbit Creek was concluded between the tribe 
of Choctaw Indians and the United States, in which the 
Indians ceded the residue of their lands in Mississippi. 
The government was represented by John H. Eaton and 
Gen. John Coffee, and the Indians by the Mingoes, chiefs, 
captains and warriors of their tribe. On the 20th and 22d 
of October, 1832, at Pontotoc Creek, occurred the treaty 
between the government of the United States and the 
Chickasaw tribe of Indians, in which the Indian^ ceded 
their lands to the State. The government was represented 
by Gen. John Coffee, and the Indians by their tribe assem- 
bled at the council house on said creek. 

The result of these treaties opened the entire State for 
settlement. The population doubled itself in the follow- 
ing decade, and ten years later, in 1850, was 606,050. 

This enormous increase in the population gave addi- 
tional impetus to the cause of education. Schools and 
academies were incorporated in almost every county then 
organized, and the standard of the earlier institutions 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 421 

made higher. The interest manifested in education during 
the early history of the State, even before its admission 
into the sisterhood, accounts in some measure for the an- 
nual disbursement of a larger sum of money for education 
than, perhaps, any other State, taking the assessed value 
of property as a basis. In this connection it may be con- 
fidently stated that the funds thus devoted are judiciously 
expended. 

THK COMMON SCHOOLS. 

On the 4th of March, 1846, a law was passed by the 
Legislature of this State establishing a system of common 
schools. 

To put the system in operation, a Board of School Com- 
missioners, to consist of five members, one from each of 
the five police districts, (now called Supervisors), were ap- 
pointed by the Board of County Police, whose duty it was 
to designate and superintend common schools, license 
teachers and fix their pay. 

The Boards of Police were charged with the duty of 
levying a special tax for school purposes, and certain 
funds, such as escheats, fines, forfeitures and amercements, 
and all monies arising from licenses granted to hawkers, 
peddlers, billiard tables, retailers of liquor, etc., which, 
together with a special tax authorized, constituted the 
school fund of the respective counties, and to be paid out 
under the direction of the school commissioners. The fines, 
forfeitures and revenue arising from the sale of liquor, 
etc., did not apply to the cities of Yicksburg, Natchez and 
Yazoo City, and supplemental acts placed Canton, Lexing- 
ton, Jackson and some other towns in the list of excep- 
tions with the cities mentioned. 

The provision levying the tax was by the statute made 
dependent on the consent of a majority of the heads of 
families in the respective townships, and not unfrequently 
majorities would withhold their sanction. With the light 
of to-day it may be said that the law, as a whole, was a 
failure. 

The government had observed its custom by withhold- 
ing from sale the sixteenth sections and dedicating them 



422 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

to the cause of education — for the maintenance of public 
schools. 

The scheme was to sell the lands thus reserved for a 
term of ninety-nine years, and invest or loan the funds thus 
realized, applying the interest for the support of the 
schools. 

The lands in the main were disposed of, and the pro- 
ceeds in many counties, by injudicious management, lost. 
In some counties, where this fund had been fairly well 
managed, payments were made during the war, in Con- 
federate money, which resulted in a clear loss to the schools 
interested. 

The law of 1846 was adopted in part upon the recom- 
mendation of Governor A. G Brown, who was an earnest 
advocate of the common, or free school system. In sub- 
mitting his message to the Legislature on this subject, he 
said : '* That the sixteenth sections set apart by a wise 
enactment of Congress for school purposes, had been most 
shamefully neglected. 

'"Of the ten or twelve hundred sections of school lands 
heretofore, and now under the control of the citizens of the 
townships, I have not been able to ascertain that one hun- 
dred have been well managed." 

While the system had the support of both the Execu- 
tive and Legislative departments, still it was not attended 
with success. Governor McRae, in 1856, seemed to have 
no plan for its improvement, but suggested a State Super- 
intendent of Public Instruction, to travel over the State 
and gather up relevant information and submit the same, 
and any plans that he might formulate to the succeeding 
Legislature. 

Very little was accomplished prior to 1861, when all 
questions of State policy were lost sight of in the prose- 
cution of the Confederate cause, which received the un- 
stinted support of all persons entrusted with the adminis- 
tration of public affairs in Mississippi. 

In 1871 there were 66,257 white and 45,429 colored pupils 
enrolled, making a total of 111,688. In 1872 the enroll- 
ment of the two races numbered 148,000. In 1875 the en- 
rolled white pupils were 78,404 ; colored, 89,813 ; giving a 
total of 168,217. 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 423 

From 1879 to 1889, there was a large increase in the en- 
rollment of pupils — the latter year, whites 148,435, colored 
173,552. Total enrollment 321,987. 

In 1875 there were employed 2,859 white teachers, and 
2,109 colored teachers. 

The average salary paid per month during 1875, was 
$55.47. 

Ten years later the average salary was $28.74, and the 
number of white teachers 4,215, colored 3,124. In 1889, 
there were 3,557 white teachers, whose salaries averaged 
$33.97, and 3,558 colored teachers, whose salaries averaged 
$24.16. 

In 1871, under Radical regime, with a total enrollment 
of white and colored pupils of 111,688, there was expend- 
ed $950,000. 

In 1872 the enrollment of the two races was 148,000, and 
the expenditure $1,1 36,987. 

Taking the years of 1880 and 1881, under Democratic 
rule, with a total enrollment in the former of 236,654, and 
the latter of 237,288, there was expended in 1880, $830,704, 
and in 1881, $757,757. 

A further application of the test is found in 1872, as 
above stated, with 148,000 pupils, a Republican adminis- 
tration, disbursed $1,136,987, while in 1889, with an enroll- 
ment of 321,987 pupils, there was expended under Demo- 
cratic rule $1,117,111. 

In 1888 and 1889 amount paid in salaries to white teachers 
$589,400.14 ; to colored teachers, $341,268.16. Number of 
private schools, white, 408 ; colored, 80. White pupils in 
attendance at private schools, 12,990 ; average salaries of 
teachers, $32.94 ; colored pupils in attendance at private 
schools 2,244 ; average salaries of teachers, $23.44. 

There were 34 separate school districts in the State in 
1888-'9, and the number of educable children of both races 
therein, 35,151, of which 18,714 were whites and 16,437 
colored. There were 382 teachers employed in separate 
school districts, of which 233 were white, with average 
salaries of $51.84, and 149 colored, with average salaries 
of $31.73. 

There has been since 1886 a marked increase in the en- 



424 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

roUment of pupils ; in the average attendance and number 
of schools ; as well as a large addition to the number of 
first-grade teachers. 

There were built in 1888 and 1889 in the State, 826 school- 
houses. In the two years, the amount expended for school 
buildings approximated $333,000. 

Twelve towns in the State erected during those two 
years, attractive and commodious school buildings, at an 
aggregate cost of $190,000. 

Teachers' Institutes have contributed very largely to the 
general improvement of the public schools. The time thus 
devoted stimulates teachers to study and qualifies them 
for advancement. 

The feasibility of establishing a chair of Pedagogy in 
the University, and one in the A. and M. College for the 
purpose of training teachers, has received the earnest con- 
sideration of the trustees of the two institutions, 'as well as 
the heart}' endorsement of the Association of Teachers of 
Southwest Mississippi ; and it is believed that ample pro- 
visions will be made in the near future to educate and 
train teachers within the limits of the State, and not com- 
pel them to go elsewhere to fit themselves for educational 
work. 

The University of Mississippi at Oxford, is the bene- 
ficiary of 36 sections of land granted by the Congress of the 
United States to the State of Mississippi in 1819, the title 
being vested in the Legislature of the State, in trust for 
the support of a seminary of learning. All but a half 
section of this land was sold in 1833 for $277,332.52. 

This amount, with $8,402.00, derived from rents, consti- 
tuted the endowment fund of the University. At the date 
of sale of these lands, the University had not been located. 
On the 26th of January, 1841, the Legislature met in joint 
convention to locate the college. The places voted for 
were Kosciusko, Mississippi City, Brandon, Louisville, 
Oxford, Middle ton, and Monroe Missionary Station. It 
was quite a heated contest, reduced on the sixth and last 
ballot to Oxford and Mississippi City, the former receiving 
fifty-eight and the latter fifty-seven votes. 

The two amounts above mentioned, aggregating $285,- 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 425 

734.52, was by an act of the Legislature, placed to the 
credit of the University by the State Treasurer, with inter- 
est at the rate of 5 per cent, per annum from the date of 
its receipt by the State to that of the enactment, and 8 per 
cent, interest from that date. Computing the interest thus 
fixed by the Legislature up to January, 1857, added to the 
principal, gave a total of $1,077,790.07; deducting the ap- 
propriations for the establishment and support of the 
University, allowing the State the same rate of interest, 
left a balance due the college fund, January, 1857, as com- 
puted by Gov. McRae, of $874,324.49. For the correctness 
of this calculation. Gov. McRae refers to his predecessors, 
Governors Runnels, Quitman and McNutt. 

The land upon which the University is located was pur- 
chased from JohnD. Martin and Jas. Stockard by Thos. H. 
Williams and Jacob Van Hoosen, commissioners appointed 
by the Legislature, which purchase was confirmed in 1841. 

The University was incorporated January, 1844, with 
James Alexander Ventress, John A. Quitman, Wm. L. 
Sharkey, Alex. M. Clayton, Wm. Y. Gholson, Jacob 
Thompson, Pryor M. Lea, Edward C.Wilkinson, James M. 
Howry, Jno. J. McCaughn, Rev. Francis Hawkes, Rev. Dr. 
J. N. Waddel and A. H. Pegues as trustees. The only 
one of these distinguished incorporators now living is Rev. 
Dr. Waddel. Since its organization it has moved steadily 
forward except during the interruption caused by the war, 
until now it stands on a plane with the best American col- 
leges. The present chancellor who directs its fortunes, 
Hon. Edward Mayes, is a fit representative of his distin- 
guished predecessors, a learned lawyer,who sprang from and 
is the youngest of a family of great lawyers, a thorough 
scholar and cultured gentleman ; he has inaugurated 
important changes and given new life and vigor to this 
splendid institution. Under his auspices the attendance 
has been increased, and the student body never more con- 
tented. There has been probably live thousand young 
men educated at the University. They are found in all the 
honorable walks of life, in the ministry, on the farm, fill- 
ing exalted civil and political positions, and honoring the 
legal and medical professions, all of whom are proud of 



426 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

their Alma Mater. The campus and buildings of the 
University are admirably located on a plat of land em- 
bracing several acres. Its proximit}^ to the town of Ox- 
ford, a community noted for its intelligence and morality, 
adds to the pleasure and improvement of young men attend- 
ing the College. 

The University is supported by the interest, amounting 
to thirty-two thousand six hundred and forty-three dollars, 
annually paid by the State, augmented by from two to four 
thousand dollars by tuition and matriculation fees. The 
people of the State have abundant reason to be proud of 
their University. 

The Agricultural and Mechanical College opened its 
doors for the reception of students in October, 1880. By 
an act of Congress in 1862, thirty thousand acres of public 
land were given for each Senator and Representative in the 
Congress of the United States to establish institutions for 
the benefit and encouragement of agriculture and the me- 
chanic arts in the several States and Territories. The por- 
tion given Mississippi was sold for two hundred and 
twenty -seven thousand live hundred dollars, and the amount 
paid into the State Treasury, for which amount the State 
issued her bonds bearing live per cent, interest per annum. 
This fund was divided equally between this College and 
the Alcorn University, which is also an Agricultural and 
Mechanical College, established for the education of the 
colored boys of the State. The interest annually paid by 
the State gave to each College live thousand, six hundred 
and seventy-eight dollars and seventy-live cents. The A. 
and M. College, however, spent fifteen thousand dollars of its 
bonds, which reduces its annual interest to four thousand, 
nine hundred and twenty-eight dollars and seventy-live 
cents. This interest has been supplemented by liberal ap- 
propriations by the Legislature. The buildings are com- 
modious and were erected by the State at a cost of over 
two hundred thousand dollars. This estimate includes the 
residences of the professors, etc. The A. and M. College is 
perhaps the best equipped institution of its character estab- 
lished under the wise enactment before mentioned. The 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 427 

annual attendance during the last decade has been about 
three hundred. 

Since the opening of its doors it has been under the di- 
rection and control of Gen. Stephen D. Lee, to whose wise 
management, in a great measure, is due its phenomenal 
success. The farm comprises eighteen hundred acres of 
land, a portion of which is in a good state of cultivation. 
Much of it, however, is devoted to grasses aad clover, upon 
which the College has a large herd of blooded cattle. 

A fund is annually set apart to pay students for labor 
performed on the farm. The object of the College is not 
only to give young men a good business education, but at 
the same time teach them scientific farming, as well as 
other necessary work to be performed on well regulated 
farms. This prosperous institution has the confidence and 
support of the people of the State. ^ 

The State has also made very generous provision for 
the higher education of the colored race, in the establish- 
ment and support of Alcorn University in Claiborne coun- 
ty, the State Normal School at Holly Springs, and by an- 
nual appropriations to Tougaloo University. 

Mississippi has contributed, since 1865, more than twice 
as much as any State in the American Union for the edu- 
cation of the negro ; and we have the testimony of Prof. 
Burrus, president of Alcorn College, that "Mississippi is 
ahead of her sister States in her efforts to put within the 
reach of her colored population liberal instruction in the 
principles of agriculture." 

In the year 1858 Miss Sallie Eola Reneau, a teacher by 
profession, and for her years a young lady of rare accom- 
plishments, residing in Grenada, conceived and digested 
the scheme, and presented it in the shape of a memorial 
to the Legislature, of establishing and endowing a State 
Female College. She declared "that she was moved by a 
good intention," and that her object in agitating the meas- 
ure was the advancement and happiness of her sex — using 
her words, '' iinprove woman and man becomes more re- 
fined." She held that private educational enterprises did 
not supply the wants advocated in her memorial, and 
accompanying plans, and emphasized the fact that Mis- 



428 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

sissippi had made liberal provisions for the education of 
her sons, "but withheld her munificence from her daugh- 
ters !" Miss Reneau protested against her sex being thus 
disinherited by their mother. Her plan embraced primary 
and academic departments, and in addition, an extended 
course, equal to that prescribed in male colleges; also a 
department for those who proposed to adopt teaching as a 
profession, and provided for ornamentals, music, etc. She 
insisted that rich and poor alike would be the recipients 
of such an institution, and many of the latter would 
qualify themselves as teachers ; that Mississippi should 
set the example which she predicted would be followed by 
other States. 

Governor John J. McRae's message, in response to Miss 
Reueau's memorial and plan, said : " The proposition for 
the establishment by the State of a Female College for the 
thorough and accomplished education of the daughters of 
the State, has been brought prominently and interestingly 
before the public, and to the notice of the Executive, by 
Miss Reneau, a young lady of accomplishment, intelli- 
gence and talent, educated in this State, a resident of 
Grenada, engaged in the business of female instruction, 
and devoted to the intellectual advancement of her sex. 
I commend the subject to the favorable consideration of 
the Legislature." 

In the Democratic Convention of the State, which assem- 
bled at Jackson in August, 1881, William H. McCardle, of 
Vicksburg, offered a resolution declaring that as Missis- 
sippi having made liberal appropriations for the educa- 
tion of her sons, that it was the sense of the Convention 
that like liberal appropriations should be made for the 
education of her daughters. 

Under the rule this resolution was "referred to the Com- 
mittee on Resolutions," and was not reported back to the 
Convention. 

Miss Reneau did not live to see the success of the en- 
terprise she so ably and enthusiastically advocated, but 
others of her sex, gifted and intellectual, took up the work 
and contributed to the establishing of the Industrial Insti- 
tute and College at Columbus — notably Mrs. A. E. Peyton, 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 429 

of Copiah county, who maintained with great earnestness 
and vigor a discussion on the subject through the public 
prints, with the late Judge H. H. Chalmers, of the Supreme 
Court, and Mrs. John G. Hastings, of Claiborne county, 
whose immediate State Senator, Hon. John McC. Martin, in- 
troduced the bill, which was passed, chartering the institu- 
tion. Co-education was adopted in 1888, at the University of 
Mississippi, which resulted at the opening of the session in 
the matriculation of twenty-two young ladies. The sub- 
ject of making provisions for them, by the erection of an 
additional dormitory at the University, led Governor 
Lowry in his biennial message of 1884, to say : " If the 
State is to assume the obligation of educating her daugh- 
ters, would it not be better to establish a Female College 
at once, than to risk the costly experiment of co-educa- 
tion at Oxford ?" The location of the College at Colum- 
bus induced a contribution on the part of the citizens of 
that cultured little city, in houses and lands, and bonds, 
equivalent to money, of near one hundred thousand dol- 
lars. The establishment of this institution not only met 
a popular demand, but at the same time relieved the State 
University of the doubtful experiment of co-education. 

Time has demonstrated the wisdom of the scheme, and 
removed the charge of discrimination against womanhood. 
The college was organized six years ago by that distin- 
guished educator. Dr. R. W. Jones, and now pupils edu- 
cated at the institution can be found in various cities and 
towns employed in book-keeping, stenography, telegraphy, 
type-wribing, printing, dress-making, etc. Dr. Jones, to 
the regret of the trustees and faculty, resigned the presi- 
dency of the college, and was succeeded by Mr. Chas. H. 
Cocke, a Virginian by birth, a Mississippian by adoption, 
a thorough gentleman of scholarly attainments and broad 
views, who kept in the line of his predecessor and added 
much to the interest of the college. He tendered his 
resignation and was succeeded by Prof. A. H. Beals, who 
came to the State with high and flattering testimonials. 

The college is an honor to the wisdom of the law-makers 
of the State. It has already attracted the attention of 
other States and bids fair to be followed by similar insti- 
tutes to be established by other State governments. 



430 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

The Whitworth Female College, at Brookhaven, was 
founded in 1859 by Rev. Mr. Whitworth, a prominent min- 
ister of the Methodist church. It was for a number of 
years under the control and management of the late Rev. 
Dr. H. F. Johnson, who added largely to the buildings, 
property and prosperity of the college. Dr. Johnson was 
a native of North Carolina, came to Mississippi about the 
time he reached his majority, read law and soon became a 
prominent member of the bar. While enjoying a lucra- 
tive practice, he retired from the bar, joined the ministry, 
and was subsequently assigned to the presidency of the 
Whitworth College, which position he held until his death. 

He was succeeded by L. T. Fitzhugh, A. M., a native of 
Rankin county. President Fitzhugh is a gentleman of 
scholarly attainments and stands high as an educator. 
He was for twelve years principal of the University High 
School in the University of Mississippi, and was esteemed 
as a vigorous and valuable professor. President Fitzhugh, 
with his business methods and constant attention to every 
department of the college, has increased the attendance 
and added to the prosperity of the institution. The vice- 
president of the college. Rev. W. B. Murrah, is among the 
ablest divines of Mississippi, and eminently fitted as a co- 
adjutor to President Fitzhugh. For the session of 1888-'89 
235 pupils matriculated, 165 of whom boarded in the col- 
lege. 

In addition to what has already been said of institutions 
of learning supported by the State, and the long estab- 
lished male and female schools and colleges, there are 
high schools and academies in almost every county in the 
State that are well equipped for the education of both 
sexes. 



CHICKASAW SCHOOL FUND. 



For a correct, accurate and condensed history of this 
fund, we give the following extract from the biennial mes- 
sage of Governor Lowry to the Legislature of 1886. This 
brief history was prepared with unusual care, and puts 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 431 

the reader in possession of every act passed by the Federal 
or State Legislatures pertaining to the fund : 

"Congress by an act approved March 3d, 1803 (2 Statutes 
at Large, page 234,) reserved from sale section number 16, 
in each township for the support of schools within the 
same. By the treaty of Pontotoc Creek, on 20th of Octo- 
ber. 1832, (7 Statutes at Large, page 380) the Chickasaw In- 
dians ceded to the United States all their lands in Missis- 
sippi, embracing 6,283,804 acres, and the United States 
agreed on its part to sell the same and pay over the pro- 
ceeds to the Chickasaw Nation. 

•'Since title to the sixteenth sections in this cession had 
already vested in the State, this treaty could not divest it. 
But to settle all controversy that might arise out of these 
conflicting grants, by an act approved July 4th, 1836, (5 
Statutes at Large, page 116,) Congress granted to the State 
in lieu of the said sixteenth sections, one thirty-sixth part 
of the lands ceded by the Chickasaws, within the State, 
which lands when selected were to be holden by the same 
tenure and upon the same terms and conditions, in all 
respects, as the State now holds the lands heretofore re- 
served for the use of schools within the said State." 

"Thus the amount donated for school purposes, and 
known as the Chickasaw school lands, was 174,550 acres. 
By an act approved February 23d, 1848, (acts 1848, page 
62,) the State authorized the Secretary of State to lease 
these lands for a period of ninety-nine years, and renew- 
able to the lessee, his heirs or assigns forever, for a sum 
not exceeding six dollars per acre, but certain persons 
' were authorized to enter at two dollars and a half the 
several pre emptions theretofore entered by them under the 
laws of the general government. The fifth section of this 
act provided that the proceeds of these lands, after deduct- 
ing the expenses of the sale, were to be a charge upon the 
State, to be held in trust by said State for the use of the 
schools in the Chickasaw cession, and to be applied to 
that purpose as hereafter to be provided by law. 

"It will be noted that these sales were made without the 
authority of Congress. But by an act approved May 19th, 
1853, (100 Statutes at Large), Congress approved and ratified 



432 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

the sales under the act of 1848, aforesaid, and authorized 
the State thereafter 'to sell and convey in fee simple, or 
lease for a term of years, as the said Legislature may 
deem best, all, or any part of the lands heretofore appro- 
priated by Congress tor the use of schools within said 
State, and to invest the money arising from said sales as 
the Legislature may direct for the use and support of 
schools within the several townships and districts of the 
country for which they were originally reserved and set 
apart, and for no other use and purpose whatever.' By an 
act approved March 7th, 1857, (acts 1856, page 141), it was 
provided that the Chickasaw School Fund, which arose 
from sales under the act of 1848, "shall become a charge 
on the State of Mississippi, and shall remain and be sub- 
ject to general appropriation, by law, from the treasury or 
otherwise to be used by the State in the same manner as 
the money received into the State from the ordinary 
sources of revenue." 

"It was further provided that eight per cent, interest 
should be paid on this fund, to be distributed semi- annually 
among the counties entitled thereto, for the support of 
schools therein. 

''This act was continued in force by an act approved 
February 20th, 1867, (acts 1867, page 894), and a strict ob- 
servance of all its provisions directed. 

"The principal of this fund now aggregates $816,615.71, 
on which, the State has annually paid eight per cent, in- 
terest, amounting to $65,329.25." 

The interest has been reduced by the present State Con- 
stitution to six per cent, per annum, after the close of 
the fiscal year 1891. 



INTRODUCTION OF PROTESTANT CHRISTIANITY. 

In 1773 Richard and Samuel Swayze, natives of Morris 
county. New Jersey, with family connections and friends, 
settled on their lands purchased from Amos Ogden, on the 
Homochitto river, in what is now Adams county, and 
afterwards and yet known as the "Jersey Settlement." 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 433 

Rev. John G. Jones, a pioneer Methodist minister, who 
died at the advanced age of eighty-seven years, honored 
and beloved by christians throughout the southwest, who 
descended from a family of christians and ministers of 
the Great Master, says in his "History of the Introduction 
of Protestantism in Mississippi and the Southwest," that 
" Rev. Samuel Swayze was a Congregational minister, 
and bad sustained the pastoral relation in that church 
from early manhood. ^ * He was beyond doubt the 
first Protestant minister that ever settled in what is now 
known as Mississippi, and his church was the first Protest- 
ant church ever organized in this country." 

Col. Claiborne, who wrote on the same subject sixteen 
years after the history of the venerable minister was pub- 
lished, in reference to Rev. Samuel Swaj^^ze, says : "The 
faithful shepherd, as soon as he had provided a shelter for 
his wife and children, and planted corn for their bread, 
gathered up his fold and organized a society, undoubtedly 
the first Protestant pastor and congregation in the Natchez 
district." 

This faithful minister died in 1784, and was buried near 
Fort Rosalie. The Congregationalists were followed by 
the Baptist denomination, their earliest worship being 
probably in 1781. This denomination, with their many 
thousand communicants now in the State, with their 
schools and colleges accessible and within easy reach of 
those who seek education and moral training, never fail to 
pay tribute and honor to their first preacher in what is 
now Mississippi, Rev. Richard Curtis. Dr. David Cooper, 
says Rev. Mr. Jones, "came early in the century as a mis- 
sionary of the Baptist church. His name first appears in 
the printed minutes of 1808. He was liberally educated 
and polished in manners. He was a warm advocate of a 
higher grade of ministerial education than generally ex- 
isted among his co-laborers. * ^ Dr. Cooper, Thomas 
Mercer, Moses Hadley and David Snodgrass generally 
wrote the annual pastoral letters to the churches." 

Rev. Adam Cloud, a Virginian by birth, was the first 
representative of the Protestant Episcopal church in the 
"Natchez country." He settled on St. Catherine's Creek, 
28 



434 HISTOKY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

in 1792. Some three years after tlie adoption of the first 
Constitution, an Episcopal church was established at what 
is now Church Hill, of which Rev. Mr. Cloud was rector 
for years. 

This denomination adheres to an educated ministry, and 
has many communicants in every part of the State. All 
Mississippians remember with affection the late Rt. Rev. 
Bishop William Mercer Green, who was succeeded by the 
accomplished and distinguished divine, Rt. Rev. Hugh 
Miller Thompson. 

The Methodist denomination came next. The Rev. To- 
bias Gibson came from South Carolina, and reached 
Adams county in 1799. He organized his first church at 
Washington, the capital of the Territorial government. 

Rev. William Winans was Secretary of the first Metho- 
dist quasi Conference which was held at the residence of 
Rev. Newit Vick, a local preacher residing in Jefferson 
county. The advent of Rev. Mr. Gibson was followed by. 
quite a number of Methodist ministers, who worked assid- 
uously in the service of the Master — some of whom be- 
came distinguished in the early history of the country; 
among them the Rev. Wm. Winans, who was a Pennsyl- 
vanian by birth, a close student, and altogether an able 
man. He was in the ministry for forty-six years, and filled 
all the important offices in the itinerancy, except that, of 
bishop. Bishop Robert R. Roberts presided over the first 
legal Conference at the house of Wm. Foster, in Adams 
county, in 1816, one year previous to the adoption of the 
first Constitution. Thomas Griffin, Wm.McKendree, John 
Page, William Houston, Isaac Quinn, Thos. Owens, Ran- 
dal Gibson, andBenj. M. Drake labored under great diffi- 
culties in the discharge of their ministerial duties, in those 
early days. Like their Baptist brethren, the Methodists 
have schools and colleges in every section of the country for 
educational and moral training. 

The first representative of the Presbyterian denomina- 
tion came to the Chickasaw Nation, now north-east Mis- 
sissippi, in 1799, Rev. Joseph Bullen, a native of Massa- 
chusetts, educated at Yale College. Other Presbyterian 
missionaries followed Rev. Mr, Bullen. The first Missis- 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 435 

sippi Presbytery was organized in 1816 ; the first Presby- 
terian church, however, was established in 1804, which was 
soon after followed by a number of others. This church 
has always maintained a high standard of education for 
its ministry, and like other Protestant denominations has 
schools and colleges located in convenient and accessible 
parts of the country. 

The Jews have established synagogues in the several 
cities of the State, while the smaller towns are unable to 
erect synagogues or to secure the services of Rabbis, yet 
most of them are connected in some way with benevo- 
lent institutions having for their object the promotion of 
religious instruction and the elevation of their people. 
The Israelites in Jackson, Meridian, Columbus, Aberdeen, 
Yicksburg, Natchez and Greenville and other cities and 
towns are largely interested in the welfare and prosper! "ly 
of their communities, and among their ministers are a num- 
ber of highly educated and cultured Rabbis. 

It is scarcely necessary to say that Catholicism obtained 
long prior to the organization of any other church in the 
territory of Mississippi. De Soto had his priests. The 
Catholic was the only recognized religion when the coun- 
try was a French province, and when under the dominion 
of Spain, and remained when the English succeeded to con- 
trol. The country, not only Mississippi, but the whole 
country, is indebted to the influence of churches for good 
government and a high standard of civilization. 



CHAPTER XXIII. 



ADAMS COUNTY 

WAS established April 2d, 1799, by proclamation of Governor 
Sargent, and named in honor ot John Adams, the then 
President of the United States It was the first county organized 
in the Territory. Its early settlement was by the French. Dur- 
ing the dominion of Spanish authority, Natchez was the seat of 
government. It was also the seat of the Territorial government 
in its formative period. 

Natchez and Adams county played a most conspicuous part in 
the history of the Territory and of the State. The names of the 
sturdy pioneers of the county will be found scattered profusely 
through the preceding pages, and hence it is unnecessary to re- 
peat those names in the record of the county. There may be 
mentioned, however, in addition, the following names : the Gil- 
lards, William and George Winchester, Abram and Thos. Ellis^ 
Dr. E. A. Cartwright, Peter Surget, father of Capt. Frank, Jacob 
and James Surget, John Linton, Alvare Fisk, Wm. B. GriflSth, 
Capt. Jas. Kemp, who commanded the Adams Troop in General 
Hinds' command at the battle of New Orleans, and the grand- 
father of Mrs. Jefferson Davis, and the great-grandfather of the 
present family of Winchesters, the Bislands, Grafton, McCaleb 
and Foster families, Kev. Benj. Chase, Dr. Wm. N. Mercer, John 
Henderson, Samuel S. Boyd, John T. McMurrin, the Hoggettsj 
Joseph Quegles, the Stantons, Frederick, William, Abijah and 
David Hunt. John Nugent, a native of Ireland^ came when a 
boy to Philadelphia in the company of a Quaker merchant, with 
whom he took service as a clerk. As the agent of this merchant 
he brought a stock of goods to Washington, Adams county, and 
established a branch store. On reaching his majority he bought 
his Quaker friend out, and continued the business in his own 
name until he accumulated a fortune. Mr. Nugent was twice 
married. By his first wife he had two children born in Adams 
county, one of whom, Perry Nugent, was widely known as a 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 437 

commission merchaut in New Orleans. Mr. Niigent's second 
wife was the daughter of Hon. Seth Lewis, at one time a Federal 
Judge of Mississippi Territory. This lady was the mother of 
Hon. W. L. Nugent, of the city of Jackson. He, however, was 
born in Louisiana, to which State his father moved and became 
an extensive planter. Mr. Nugent is the senior partner of the 
well known firm of Nugent & McWillie. He is a lawyer of dis- 
tinguished ability, full of resources, and his firm does a lar^^e 
and lucrative practice. Mr. Nugent is a devoted member of the 
Methodist church, and finds time to contribute to every sugges- 
tion and enterprise having for its object the promotion of Chris- 
tianity. Among the above will be found the names of a 
number of leading, able and brilliant men. To this list may be 
added the names of Sergeant S. Prentiss and John A. Quitman 
both of whom are mentioned elsewhere in this volume In a 
historical sketch of the county by the late Judge Joseph D 
Shields, it is stated that the late Col. John Hutchins was the 
first native born son of American parentage in Adams county. 
The first charter of the city of Natchez was granted fourteen 
years prior to the admission of the State into the Union, Samuel 
Brooks being the first mayor. The Natchez hospital was incor- 
porated in 1805, and is now in part, and very properly, main- 
tamed by the State government. 

After the battle and victory at New Orleans, Mrs. Jackson 
joined the General, and on their return home, Natchez gave them 
an ovation and grand ball. Twenty years before that time he had 
come to the Natchez country, an unknown young man to woo ^ 
his beloved Eachel. At the ovation he stood the hero of the ' 
South, the cynosure of all eyes. 

The great tornado in May, 1840, destroyed all that part of 
Natchez under the hill, and did great damage on the hill There 
were three hundred and forty-six persons known to be killed 
and there was supposed to be five or six hundred lives lost on 
steam and flat-boats. The city of Natchez, noted for its beauty 
and the culture of its citizens, has cotton factories, cotton com- 
press, ice factory, electric lights, water-works, etc., and it is a 
place of very considerable commercial importance, with banks of 
suflScient capital to meet all needed demands. As in "the olden 
times," the city boasts of a most intelligent and capable bar 
The principal streams of the county are the Mississippi river 
that forms its western boundary, the Homochitto river Second 
and St. Catherine's Creek. The Natchez, Jackson and Columbus 



488 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 



Railroad was completed in 1880. General Will T. Martin, a dis- 
tinguished soldier and able lawj^er, who has represented Adams 
county twice in the State Senate and was a delegate to the Con- 
stitutional Convention of 1890, devoted a number of years to the 
building of the N., J. and C. Railroad. The New Orleans and 
Northwestern Railroad has a depot at Natchez and is finished for 
some distance in the direction of its objective point, Kansas City. 

Adams county has 105,164 acres of cleared land, average value 
per acre, $7.66. Total value of cleared land, including incorpo- 
rated cities, $2,832,607. 

Population as shown by the census of 1890: Whites, 6,054; 
colored, 19,973 ; total, 26,027. 

Representatives. 
B. R. Grayson, L. Winston, S. Montgomery, 

E. Turner. 
S. L. Winston, B. R. Grayson, S. ^lontgom- 

ery, Jas. Foster. 
Abram Defrance, Bela Metcalf, John Snod- 

grass. 
Geo. Dougherty, F. Winston. 



Senators. 

1820 Chas. B. Green, White Tur- 

pin. 

1821 Chas. b. Green, Jos. Sessions 

1822 Joseph Sessions. 

1823 Adam L. Bingaman. 



1825 Adam L, Bingaman, James Geo. Dougherty, B. L. C. VVailes, F. Win- 

Foster, ston. 

1826 Adam L Bingaman, Foun- 

tain Winston. 

1827 Fountain Wmston. 

1828 Fountain Winston. 

1829 Fountain Winston. 

1830 Fountain Winston. 

1831 Robert T. Dunbar. 
1833 Fountain Winston. 

1835 John A. Quitman. 

1836 John A. Quitman. 

1837 Geo. Winchester. 

1838 Adam L. Bingaman. 

1839 Adam L. Bingaman. 

1840 John C. Kerr. 

1841 John C. Kerr. 
i842-'43 James Metcalf. 
1844 James Metcalf. 



1846 James Metcalf. 

1848 T. J. Stewart. 

1850 T. J. Stewart. 

i852-'54 A. K. Farrar. 

1 856-' 57 A. K. Farrar. 

1858 A. K. Farrar. 

i859-'6o-'6i George H. Gordon. 

i86i-'62 Geo. H. Gordon. 

i865-'66-'67 Moses Jackson. 

1870 H R. Revels. 

1 87 1 J. M, P. Williams. 
i872-'73 J. M. P. Williams. 
i874-'75 J- M. P. Williams. 
i876-'77 Henry C. Griffin. 
1878 K. Palmer Lanneau. 



Chas. B. Green, Benjamin Wailes. 

C. B. Green, A. Dunbar. 
John A. Quitman, C. B. Green. 

C. B. Green, D. S. Walker 
John F. H. Claiborne, R. Dunbar. 
John F. H. Claiborne, Adam L. Bingaman. 
Adam L. Bingaman, Wm. Vannerson. 
Adam L. Bingaman, Wm. Vannerson. 
Adam L. Bingaman, J. T, McMurran. 
Adam L. Bingaman, Wm. Vannerson. 
Wm. P Mellen, T. Armat, S. Murchison. 
Wm. P. Mellen, T. Armat, S. Murchison. 
John C. Inge, F. Wood, S. Murchison. 

F. Wood, S. Murchison. 

D. P. Jackson, S. Murchison. 
John Maxwell, Samuel Cotton George Win- 
chester. 

W. B. Fowles, B. Pendleton, R. North. 
Robert Stanton, S. C. Cox. 
L. M. Day, P. W. Farrar. 
Thomas Grafton, C. L. Dubuisson. 

G. L. C. Davis, W. S Gibson. 
John S. Holt, R. W. Phillips. 
Douglas Walworth, C. A. Pipes. 
H. Fowles, Jos. D. Shields. 

Giles M. Hillyer, J. H. Blanchard. 
John R. Lynch, O. C. French, H. P. Jacobs. 
John R. Lynch, O. C. French, H. P. Jacobs. 
John R. Lynch, O. C. French, H. P.Jacobs. 
W. H. Lynch, O. C. French, Willis Davis. 
M. A, C. Hussey, H. P. Jacobs, F. Parsons. 
T. Otis Baker, J. W, Chamberlain, Geo. R. 
Washington. 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 439 

1880 A. H. Bienham. T. L. Mellen, J. W. Chamberlain, W. W. 

Hence. 
1882 A. H. Brenham. T. L. Mellen, C. D. Foules, W, H. Lyncli. 

1884 A. H. Brenham. Charles D. Foules, T. L. Cory. 

1886 A. H. Brenham. Charles D. Foules, W. II. Lynch. 

i888-'90 Will T. Martin. George M. Marshall, G. F. Bowles. 



ALCOEN COUNTY 

Was established April 15th, 1870^ and named in compliment to 
tirovernor James L. Alcorn, und carved mainly out of Tisho- 
mingo. The early settlers of the latter county contain the 
names of many persons now comprising the county of Alcorn. 
Corinth, the county site, made historic by the battles there and 
in the vicinity, is situated at the crossing of two railroads, the 
Memphis & Charleston and the Mobile & Ohio. The town is 
eligibly located, with good advantages for transportation. The 
other towns in the county are Jacinto, the former seat of justice, 
Danville, Eienzi, Kossuth, Winnesoga and Glendale. The 
Hatchie and Tuscumbia rivers and a number of creeks afford 
ample water facilities. The county having been formed since 
the war, its early history is that of the area of country out of 
which it was formed. 

Alcorn has 80,340 acres of cleared land, the average value of 
which, as rendered to the Assessor, is $4.19 per acre — total value 
of cleared land, $665,792. 

The population of Alcorn, as shown by the census of 1890, is 
whites, 9,543 ; colored, 8,571 ; total, 13,114. 

Senators. Representatives. 

i872-'73 John M. Stone. C. F. Sawyer, C. B. Curlee, 

i874-'75 John M. Stone. J. M. Walker; J. L. Ruse. 

1876 John M. Stone. L. P. Reynolds, W. I. Gibson. 

1877 John D. Bills. L. P. Reynolds, W. I. Gibson. 
187X John D. Bills, J. Key, W. I. Gibson. 

1880 John D. Bills. K. M. Harrison, W. H. Reese. 

1882 F. M. Boone.v Wm. M. Inge, W. H. Reese. 

1884 F. M. Boone.v Wm. M. Inge, T. H. Underwood. 

1886 F. M. Boone. ^ M. W. Bynum, J. F. Carraway. 

1888 F. M. Boone. ^ . T. H. Underwood, H. H. Ray. 

1890 C. Kendrick. T. J. Graves, W. Y. Baker. 



AMITE COUNTY 

Was established February 24th, 1809, eight years prior to the ad- 
mission of the State into the Union. During the Territorial 



440 HISTORY OB' MISSISSIPPI. 

government, courts known as Justices of the Quorum, com- 
prised of four justices of the peace, exercised jurisdiction over 
the property of orphans, and also acted as Boards of Police. 
The first term held by the Justices of the Quorum in Amite was 
at the house of William R. Eichards, on the 13th of April, 1809. 
It was composed of Micajah Davis, James Lee, Thomas Wag- 
goner and Eobert Montgomery. Thomas Batehelor was Regis- 
ter of the Court, was also Register of Deeds as early as 1810, 
and Clerk of the Superior Court in 1813, and Clerk of the 
County Court in 1818, serving until 1828. In addition to the 
above early settlers were David Neilson, Matthew Toole, John 
Nelvin, Robert Trontham, Thomas Torrence, George Davis, 
Abram H. Buckhalts, Sylvester Dunn, Henry Cassels, David W. 
Hurst, (one of Mississippi's most distinguished lawyers, who was 
elected Supreme Judge in 1863, and was colonel of the Thirty- 
third Mississippi Regiment; and Col. C. P. ]S"eilson, a leading law- 
yer and a colonel in the Confederate service, now located at 
Greenville, were both natives of Amite county; John Brown, 
Matthew Kinchen, Moses Myles, William Brillein, Jas. Cade, John 
R. Williams, Robert Lowry, Ben Hill, Jas. Gordon, Jonathan 
Hicks, John Smylie, Jesse Talbert, Thomas Causey, Matthew 
Smylie, Catesby Gordon, Isaac Jackson, West Taner, Jesse Win- 
borne, Joshua Collins, Wm. R. Richards, Thomas Toler, James 
McKnight, Benjamin Cassels, Stephen Ellis, Thomas Talbert, 
Richard Bates, Nathaniel Wells, James Robinson and James 
Chandler. The first Territorial Courts were held by Thomas 
Rodney and Francois X. Martin. Judge George Winchester held 
the April and October terms of the circuit court in 1827. Judge 
Harry Cage held October terms, 1829'-30, April term 1831, and 
May term 1840. Rev. Ezra Courtney, a Baptist minister, per- 
formed the first marriage ceremony of which there is any record 
in the county. Rev. James Smylie, the pioneer Presbyterian min- 
ister, founded Bethany Church, on Beaver Creek, in 1831. Among 
other divines of an early day were Zachariah Reeves, Chas. Fel- 
der, Shadrack Young, Thomas Clinton, J. W. Kennon, Thos. 
Nixon, George King, JoTin Campbell, Jas. Cain and David Cook. 

Ludwick Hall published a newspaper at Liberty, called the 
Republican, in 1812. The Liberty Advocate was published over 
forty years by J. W. Forsyth. The Southern Herald is now the 
only paper published in Liberty. 

The first Confederate monument in the State was erected at 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 441 

Liberty by the patriotic citizens of Amite county. It was de- 
signed by Capt. A. J. Lewis, of Port Gribson, and cost $3,332, 
and was received by Col. C, P. Neilson on behalf of the Monu- 
mental Association, April 31st, 1871. It is a beautiful structure 
of Italian marble, in Corinthian style, twenty-seven feet high, on 
the tablets and columns of which are engraved two hundred and 
eighty-two names of soldiers who enlisted from this county, and 
lost their lives in the great struggle for independence. 

Liberty, the county site, is a handsome village, and has always 
supported and encouraged schools. The large college hall, with 
its contents, including a number of pianos, was burned by the 
Federal soldiers during their occupancy of the town in 1863. 
The remaining buildings were finally handsomely fitted up, and 
after passing through several hands, were purchased by Prof. C. 
F. Massales, a native of the county and an educator of experi- 
ence. He is assisted by an able corps of teachers and is liber- 
ally patronized. 

Gloster, on the line of the Louisville, New Orleans & Texas 
Kailroad, has a population of one thousand or more. This 
place and also Gillsburg are manifesting a laudable interest in 
the cause of education. 

East Fork and Ebenezer Institutes are liberally patronized 
by their respective localities. 

The Louisville, New Orleans and Texas Eailroad traverses the 
western part of the county for about twelve miles. Gloster and 
Dayton are the only commercial points on the road in the limits 
of the county. The principal streams are the two Amite rivers, 
which form a junction and flow into Lake Maurapas. Beaver, 
Tickfaw, Hominy, Brushy and Dawson creeks are bold running 
and impetuous streams. Tangipahoa flows into Lake Pontchar- 
train. The lands on these streams are fertile and productive 
and the uplands by fertilization give generous yields. The 
county is covered Avith a variety of valuable timber. There are 
73,999 acres of cleared land, the average value of which $6.46. 
Total value of cleared lands, including, incorporated towns, is 
$510,292. 

The population as shown by the census of 1890 : Whites, 7,509; 
colored, 10,689 ; total, 18,198. 

Senators. Representatives. 

1820 Thos. Torrence. David Davis, Wm. Gardner, Zach. Lea. 

1821 Thos. Torrence. Richard Hurst, W. Jackson, Burton. 

1822 Thos. Torrence. John Lowry, James Jones. 

1S23 John R. Brown. Francis Graves, Richard Hurst, Jas. Jones. 



442 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 



1825 John R. Brown. 

1826 Chas. C. Slocumb. 

1827 Thos. Torrence. 

1828 Thos. Torrence. 

1829 Wm. Jackson. 

1830 Wm. Jackson. 

1 83 1 Wm. Jackson. 
1833 Archibald Smith. 

1835 David Davis. 

1836 David Davis. 

1837 Jehu Wall. 
i838-'39 Jehu Wall. 
1840 Jehu Wall. 
i84i-'42-'43 Jehu Wall. 
1844 Jehu Wall. 

1846 John Wall. 
1848 E McCoy Davis. 
1850 E. McCoy Davis. 
1852 J. M. Nelson. 
1854 J. M. Nelson. 
i856-'57 Franklin Love. 
1858 Franklin Love. 
i859-'6o-'6i G. H. Gordon. 
i86i-'62 G. H. Gordon. 
> i865-'66'-67 Moses Jackson. 
i870-'7i Wm. H. Gibbs. 
1 87 2-' 73 Wm H. Gibbs. 
1874-75 G. W. White. 
i876-'77 G. W. White. 
1878 Moses Jackson. 
1880 Moses Jackson. 
1882 Thos. V. Noland. 
1884 Thos. V, Noland. 
1886 Wm. F. Love. 
1888 Wm. F. Love. 
1890 J. H. Jones. 



Richard Hurst, Francis Graves, S Weath- 

ersby. 
Francis Graves, E. Smith, S. Weatheishy. 
S. Weathersby. 

Edmund Smith, Samuel B. Marsh 
Samuel B Marsh. Francis Graves. 
Francis Graves, David Pemble. 
Edmund Smith, David Pemble. 
David Pemble, Wm. Vannorman. 
Wm. Vannorman, David Pemble. 
F. C. Talbert, John Wall. 
F. C. Talbert, John Wall. 
Edmund Smith, J. J. Graves. 
J. J. Graves, Solomon Weathersby. 
T, J. Stewart, Jas M. Smiley. 
J. M. Smiley. 

Jas. M. Smiley, T. M. Rogers. 
David W. Hurst. 
Jehu Wall, F. C. Talbert. 
Jehu Wall, Jas. M. Gallent. 

E. L. Tarver. 

Jas. M. Gallent, N. L. Huff. 

F. H. Sleeper. 
C. E. Frith. 
Moses Jackson 
Geo. F. Webb. 

A. Parker. 
Reuben Kendrick. 
Reuben Kendrick. 

B. F. Johns, Jas E. Jagers. 
Wm. F. Love, E. L. Tarver. 
Wm. F. Love, B. F. Johns. 
F. A. McLain, C. Byrd. 

Wm. F. Love, Geo. M. Govan. 
W. B. Raiford, J. M. Bates. 
Polk Talbert, S. M. Simmons. 
Polk Talbert, Theo. McKnight. 



ATTALA COUNTY 

Was established December 23d, 1833, and it is said was named in 
honor of an Indian maiden of the Choctaw tribe, who committed 
suicide because of the death of her lover. Among the early set- 
tlers of the county were Hosea Upsy, Eli and Levi Carter, Wm. 
S. Eoss, Jas. N. Taylor, Frank Eutherford, Presley Williams, 
Eolin Suggs, Bayliss Oldham, John, J. P. and Wm. E. Irving, 
Wm. Bell, John Short, Thos. Eogers, Wm. and Allen Dodd, 
Abner and Jonathan Armstrong, John and Wm. Allen, Joseph 
Ivy, Chapin Smith, Asa and Noah Day, Zebediah Guess, William, 
James and Isom Cole, Wm. Tipton, Oliver M. Simpson, Wm. T. 
Irish, Doc. Hughes, John Jeffreys, Wm. and Stephen Calcote, 
Nick. Fisher, the Carsons, John Biggs, Wm. Ellington, Thos. 
Potter, the Stapletons, Gordon D. Boj'd, Wm. Exum, Zachariah 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 443 

Rector, the McCarters, Jack Davis, Gray Simms, Dr. H. J. Mun- 
son, John Stanard, Jas. Fletcher, S. N. Gilleland, John Harvey, 
Jas. Lily, Chas. Fuller, Alex. Mabry, Thos. Beeks, Daniel Mc- 
Millan and Henry Musslewhite. A little later came J. A. P. and 
Chas. H. Campbell, brothers, and afterwards widely known law- 
yers. The elder. Judge J. A. P. Campbell, was elected to the Leg- 
islature about the time he reached his majority ; he was again 
elected in 1859, and was chosen Speaker of the House, the duties 
of which he discharged with great acceptability. In 1861, he 
was elected to the Provisional Congress of the Confederate 
States of America. After the commencement of hostilities, he 
enlisted in the Confederate service and was made Lieutenant- 
Colonel of the Fortieth Regiment, and remained with his com- 
mand until disabled by wounds ; upon the restoration of peace 
he was chosen Circuit Judge of the district in which he re- 
sided, and against his inclinations and wishes was re-elected 
without opposition. In 1876 he was appointed by Governor 
Stone to the Supreme Bench, and re-appointed in 1884, by Gov- 
ernor Lowry. Judge Campbell has been on the circuit and 
supreme benches for more than twenty years, and it is no dis- 
paragement to others to say that no abler man ever adorned 
the Supreme Bench of Mississippi. The younger brother. Judge 
Chas. H. Campbell, is a lawyer of ability, and has been the 
presiding circuit judge of his district for a number of years, is a 
genial gentleman and acceptable to the people whom he has long 
served. The early settlers of this county came from the States 
of Alabama, North and South Carolina, Kentucky and Tennessee. 
Some of them settled in the county on their return from the 
war in 1812-'15 Kosciusko, the county site, in near the geographi- 
cal center of the State, a handsomely located little town, of prob- 
ably fifteen hundred inhabitants. It was named for Gen, Thad- 
deus Kosciusko, the Polish patriet. The town has an excellent 
public school, conducted by Prof. W. D. Berry, a native of Ran- 
kin county, and a graduate of our State University. The lead- 
ing religious denominations have good churches, and well at- 
tended. Rev. Dr. J. H. Alexander has been pastor of the Pres- 
byterian church since 1855, and to his godly life and consecrated 
ministry much of the high moral and religious culture of the 
community is due. He is the father of Rev. W. A. Alexander, 
pastor of the Presbyterian church at Canton, and of C. H. Alex- 
ander, Esq., a leading attorney of Jackson. The other towns are 
Ethel, named for a daughter of Capt. S. B. McConnico ; Sallis, 



444 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 



named for Dr. James Sallis, and McCool, named in honor of Hon. 
Jas. F. McCool. The Aberdeen branch of the Illinois Central Eail- 
road from Durant to Aberdeen passes through the county, a dis- 
tance of probably of forty miles. The principal streams are 
Big Black river, Long, Aprokta, Yockanookana, Zilpha^ Turkey, 
and Lobutcha creeks. Attala, while not a rich county, is healthy 
and prosperous, and nowhere will be found a more hospitable 
and well-to-do population. There are in the county 175,249 
acres of cleared lands. The average value of which is $1.92. 
The total value of cleared lands, including in corporated towns is 
$772,313. The population of Attala as shown by the census of 
1890: Whites, 12,666; Colored, 9,523. Total, 22,189. 

Senators. 
1836 

1837 Gordon 1). Boyd. 
i838-'39 Gordon Boyd. 
i840-'4i Samuel N. Gilleland. 
i842-'43 Samuel N. Gilleland. 
1844 John D. Boyd. 
1846 George Hicks. 
1848 Henry Gray. 
1850 Samuel N. Gilleland. 
1852 Georj^^e Pope. 
1854 George Pope. 
i856-'57 Samuel N. Gilleland. 
1858 T. L Thompson. 
i859-'6c>-'6i George Huie. 
i86i-'62 George Huie 
i865-'66 S. W. Land. 

1870 W. S. Rushing. 

187 1 W. S Rushing. 
i872-'73 James S. Smythe. 
l874-'75 James S. Smythe 

J. G. Henderson. 
i876-'77 S. T. Oldham. 
1878 S. T. Oldham. 
1880 Thomas L. Cooper. 
1882 Thomas L. Cooper. 
1884 David T. Guyton. 
1886 David T. Guyton. 
1888 Pres Groves. 
1890 Pres Groves. 



Representatives. 
Wm. Dodd. 
Wm. Dodd. 
Wm. Eakin. 
Shelman Durham. 
John D. Boyd. 
M. S. Teague. 
S. N. Gilleland. 
E. H. Sanders. 
J. T. McAfee, S. Durham. 
J. A. P. Campbell, J B. Hemphill. 
S. Gilleland, W. D. Roy. 
S. Gilleland and Hastings D. Palmer. 
Hastings D Palmer, J. R. Hemphill. 
J. A. P. Campbell, Hastings D. Palmer. 
E. M. Wells, Silas H. Clarke. 
Jos. M. Thompson, Alex. Mabry. 
R. Boyd, Jason Niles. 
R. Boyd, John C. Lucas. 
Wm. Allen, S. W. Land. 
James M. Boyd, C H. Campbell. 
James M Boyd, C H. Campbell. 
David T. Guyton, J. K. Schrock. 
Frederick M. Glass, H. C. Niles. 
Frederick M. Glass, C. L. Anderson. 
D. L. Smythe, James F. McCool. 
James F. McCool, Wiley Sanders. 
W. A. Haden, H. C. Niles. 
A. W. Skinner, R. B. Sanders. 
J. P. Allen, L. S Terry. 



BENTON COUNTY 

Was established July 15th, 1870, carved out of the counties of 
Marshall and Tippah. It was named in honor of Col. Samuel 
Benton, who was killed at the head of his command during the 
war between the States. Ashland, the county site, was named 
for the home of the great commoner, Henry Clay. This county 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 445 

having been organized since the war, the names of many of the 
early settlers will necessarily be found in the list of those men- 
tioned in Marshall and Tippah. 

Gov. Joseph Matthews, the late Judge A. M. Clayton, and Col. 
D. B. Wright, all distinguished citizens, resided in the territory 
now embraced in Benton county. The late Wra. Hull, an impul- 
sive and generous gentleman, also resided in what is now Ben- 
ton county. There may be mentioned in this connection, 
the numerous family of McDonalds, of whom there were several 
different branches not related. The most widely known repre- 
sentative of this family was Judge J. M. McDonald, a gentleman 
of high character, who dispensed at his home a most generous 
hospitality. He was the father of Hon. Will T. McDonald, who 
was a delegate to the Constitutional Convention of 1890. Hon. 
W. A. McDonald, a representative of a different family, has 
served in both branches of the Legislature. Hon. B. T. Kim- 
brough was the first lawyer to locate at the county site of Ben- 
ton, and the first Kepresentative in the Legislature. He is an ex- 
cellent lawyer and is now serving his second term as chancellor 
of the district in which he resides. 

The towns in addition to the county site are Lamar, Michigan 
City and Hickory Flat. 

The principal streams are Wolf and Tippah rivers, with quite 
a number of smaller streams. 

Two railroads pass through the borders of the county, the Illi- 
nois Central and Kansas City, Memphis and Birmingham. 

Much of the land in Benton is most excellent and productive. 
The number of acres of cleared land in the county is 107,148. 
The average value of which is $2.37 per acre. Total value in- 
cluding incorporated towns is $266,244. 

The population as shown by the census return of 1890 is, 

whites, 5,578 ; colored, 5,007 ; total 10,585. 

Senators. Representatives. 

i872-'73 E. M. Alexander. B. T. Kimbrough. 

i874-'75 Clarence Cullens. H. A, Cook. , 

i876-'77 Chas. C. Terry. Wm. A. Crum. 

1878 Chas. C. Terry. J. Waverly Smith. 

1880 J. H. Dalton. R. E. Taylor. 

1882 J. H. Dalton Wm. Ayres. 

1884 W. A. Boyd. W. A. McDonald, Jno. Y. Murry. 

1886 W. A. Boyd. W, A. McDonald, W. T. McDonald. 

1888 W. A. McDonald. H. P. Maxwell, Jas. C. Harris. 

1890 W. A. McDonald. B. O. Simpson, Allen Talbot. 



446 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

BOLIVAR COUNTY 

Was established February 9th, 1836, and named in honor of the 
great liberator of South America, General Simon Bolivar. The 
commissioners appointed to organize the county were William 
B. Cook, Peter Wilkinson, Hiram Miller, J. McGruire, John W. 
Bowles and Francis Patterson. 

The first court held in the county was presided over by Judge 
Frederick W. Huling. Andrew S. Dodd was clerk and W. J. 
Longacre, sheriff. 

Joseph McGruire was a member of the first grand jury empan- 
eled in the county. Some of his descendants still reside in the 
county, one of whom, A. G-. McGuire, is a lawyer of character 
and standing ; another, T. R. McGuire, is clerk of the chancery 
court. 

Two other members of the same grand jury, were Isaac Hud- 
son and C. J. Field. The former acquired large property, and 
held several positions of trust and honor; the latter was a Ken- 
tuckian, connected by birth and marriage with the Clay family 
of that State, and a gentleman of high character and integrity. 

Among the first settlers of the county may also be named, 
John Kirk, Isaac Wilkinson and Dr. Maul Rowland, and Charles 
Clarke, referred to elsewhere. His only son, Fred. A. Clarke, 
Esq., is a prominent lawyer of that county, and is planting on 
the farm developed by his honored father. 

Many of the oarly settlers were men of marked intelligence 
and possessed in an eminent degree the characteristics that gave 
assurances of a high grade of civilization. 

Some sixteen years after the organization of the county, the 
leading citizens were Peter B. Starke, who served in both 
branches of the Legislature, and afterwards a Brigadier-Greneral 
in the Confederate army, Governor Charles Clarke, before men- 
tioned, William Vick, Miles H. McGehee, John C. Burrus, 
Thomas Manly, L. G. Galloway, Dickson Bell, a nephew of the 
Whig candidate for President, Guilford Torry, M. D. Shelby, 
J. J. Ross and F. A. Montgomery ; the latter was a Colonel in the 
Confederate service, and has served his county with distinction 
in the Legislature, and now a prominent member of the bar at 
Rosedale, the county site; John Stafford and G. W. Arnold. The 
three last named, and Isaac Wilkinson and Dr. Rowland, are the 
only living white men among the early settlers now residing in 
the county. 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 447 

Some of the i^ood women of those times are still living, and 
were the honored wives of the pioneers of the county, among 
them, Mrs. John Kirk, Mrs. John C. Burrus, Mrs. Joseph Sillers, 
Mrs. Lightfbot, Mrs. F. A. Montgomery and Mrs. Anna Baldwin 
— the three last mentioned sisters of Governor Clark. 

The members of the bar are prosperous and stand deservedly 
high in their profession. 

There are two lines of railroad running parallel with the 
river from north to south, and another to the Mississippi river at 
Huntington through the southern part of the county. Another 
road commencing at Eosedale and intended to go to some point 
on the Illinois Central will be completed to Bogue Phalia very 
soon. 

The Mississippi river is the Western boundary of the county. 
SunfloAver river touches the county on its eastern border. Other 
important streams and bayous in the county are Hushpuckena, 
Deer Creek^ Lakes Beulah, Bolivar, Vermillion and Porter. 

Bolivar county now embraces an area of 843 square miles, 
and is one among the largest cotton producing counties in the 
State. 

Rosedale, the county site, is a prosperous and attractive town, 
with superior public buildings, and with banking and commercial 
facilities to meet the demands of trade. The people are thrifty 
and cultured. 

Other towns in the county are Benoit, Bolivar, Huntington, 
Shaw, Cleveland, Shelby, Alligator, Duncan, Australia, Con- 
cordia and Beulah, all of which are growing and prosperous. 

Bolivar county has 108,553 acres of cleared land. Average 
value per acre as rendered to the assessor, $11.91. Total value 
of cleared lands, including incorporated towns, $1,389,889. 

The population as shown by the census of 1890 : "Whites, 
3,220 ; colored, 26,734 ; total, 29,964. 

Senators. Representatives. 

1837 Jas. D. Hallam. John M. Henderson. 

1838 Jas. D. Hallam. B. M. Hinds. 

1839 Walker. B. M. Hinds. 

1840 Alfred Cox. C. H. Fields. 

1841 Jas. M. Matlock. C. H. Fields./ 
l842-'43-'44 Andrew Knox. J. P. Brown. 
1846 Felix Labauve. }. H. Carson. 
1848 J. J. B. White. Jas. B. Smith. 
1850 J. j. B. White. Peter B. Starke, 
i852-'54 W. L. Johnson. Peter B. Starke. 
1856 Peter B. Starke. Cha.s. Clark. 
i857-'58 Peter B Starke- Isaac Hudson. 
i859-"6o-'6i Peter B. Starke. Chas. Clark. 



448 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 



i86i-,62 Peter B. Starke. 
i865-'66-'67 W. W. S. Yerger. 
i870-'7i A. S. Dowd. 
i872-'73-'74 C. M. Bowles. 
i874-'75 Geo. C. Smith. 
i876'-77 Jas R. Chalmers. 
1878 G. W. Gayles. 
1880-82 G. W. Gales. 
1884 G. W. Gayles. 
1886 G. W. Gayles. 
1888 John W. Cutrer. 
1890 John W. Cutrer. 



Miles H. Magehee. 

Chas. R. Mays<m. 

C. M. Bowles. 

G. W. Gayles, M . B. Sullivan. 

M, B. Sullivan, G. W. Gayles. 

Green Clay, John I. J. Shelby. 

Green Clay, F. M. Libby. 

F. A. Montgomery, J. H. Bufford. 

F. A. Montgomery, Perry Peyton. 

Walter Sillers, W. L. Lowe. 

J. E. Halbert, G. W. Huntley. 

O. L. Shelby, L. C. Moore. 



CHAPTER XXIV. 



CALHOUN COUNTY 

WAS established March 8th, 1852, and was named in honor of 
the great South Carolina statesman, John C. Calhouu. 
The early settlers of the county were Mr. McCrory, who was the 
first Representative in the Legislature from the county. The 
families of Wilson, Brantley, Bauchman, Tedford, Ivy, Church, 
McDonald, Wheeler, Brasher, (one of whom, L. Brasher, repres- 
ented the county in the State Senate in 1858), Bagwell, Clarke, 
Enochs, Collum, McKnight, Du Berry, Miller, Armstrong, 
Beadles, Bolands, Hamptons, Provine, Fox, Shaw, Vance, Dun- 
can, Duff, McLarty, Lamar, Hardon, Walker, White, Martin, 
Isaac A. Duncan and A. M. Reasons. 

The towns are Pittsboro, the county site, Banner, Sarepta and 
Slate Springs. The streams are Yalobusha and Loosa-Scoona 
rivers, Persimmon, Kitta-Hatta, Sabougla, Shoot-us-a-spear, Top- 
achaw and Beaver Creeks. 

Calhoun county has 67,799 acres of cleared land, the average 
value of which is $6.96 per acre. Total value, including incor- 
porated towns, $517,639. 

The population of the county as shown by the census of 1890: 
Whites, 11,188; colored, 3,500; total 14,688. 

Senators. Representatives. 

1854 H. Allen, Jr. McCrory. 

1856 H. Allen, Jr. J. G. Burney. 

1857 C. H. Guy. J, G. Burney. 

1858 L. Brasher. Isaac A. Duncan. 
i959-'6o-'6i L Brasher. I. A. Duncan, A. M. Reasons. 
i86i-'62 J. L. Davis. A. Woodward, F. G. Enochs. 
i865-'66'-67 M. D. L. Stephens. C. A. Lewers. 

l870-'7i H. L. Duncan. A. T. Roane. 

!872-'73 H. L. Duncan. H. C. Horton, A. T. Roane. 

i874-'75 P- R- Thornton. H. C. Horton, D. W. Rogers. 

i876-'77 P. R. Thornton. Isaac T. Blount, D. W. Rogers. 

1878 D. W. Rogers. Wm. T, Young, A. T. Roane. 

1880 D. W Rogers. T, M. Stevens, J. J. Ross. 

1882 Wm. A Roane. R. N. Provine, -J. L. Collins. 

1884 Wm. A. Roane. G. W. Howard, D. W. Rogers. 

1886 S. M. Ross. J. I. Ballinger, W. T. Young. 

1888 S. M. Ross. E. R. Enochs, J. W. Lamar. 

18/0 J. W. Lamar. Joseph Griffin, I. T. Blount. 
1 29 



450 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

CAEROLL COUNTY 

Was established December 22d, 1833, and named in honor of 
Charles Carroll, of Carrollton, one ot the immortal signers of the 
Declaration of Independence. It ranks as a fair county of lands. 

On the 25th of December, 1833, the Legislature passed an act 
authorizing Edmund G. Whitehead, James Collins, Titus How- 
ard, Absalom Herring and William T. Collins to organize Car- 
roll county. 

Among the early settlers of this county were (xreenwood Le- 
flore, chief of the Choctaw Nation, and after the removal of his, 
people west of the Mississippi river, he served his district in the 
State Senate. Wm. Leflore, Col. Joseph Drake, Col. Neil, Judge 
Cothran, Judge Shattuck, Samuel Harp, James Wellons, Wm. 
Saunders, Jonathan Ray, Joe Ray, Alexander Ray, Captain John 
A. Binford, father of Col. James R. Binford, former State Sena- 
tor from the counties of Carroll and Montgomery, William Hem- 
ingway, a leading citizen of the county, who served as a member 
of the Legislature, was a delegate to the Constitutional Conven- 
tion of 1865, and appointed by the Convention with Hons. B. J. 
Goode and R. S. Hudson as a committee to frame laws for the 
consideration of the Legislature, which was to assemble that 
fall. He was also the father of Hon. W. L. Hemingway, who was 
a delegate to the Convention of 1868, and former State Treasur- 
er for fourteen years, and of Judge Wilson Hemingway, now on 
the Supreme Court bench of Arkansas, and of J. B. H. Heming- 
way, a well-read lawyer, and for years one of the law Reporters 
for the State, Wilson Hemingway, former Secretary of State, 
General Collins Hemingway, Major E. P.Kennedy, John P. Mar- 
shall, B. F. Marshall, Wm. G. Herring, Dr. J. A. J. Askew, 
Judge Wm. Y. Collins, Col. ;;Wm. Boothe, Mr. Durham, T. T. 
Young, the father-in-law of Senator J. Z. George, John C. Mc- 
Carthy, J. W. S. Merrill, formerly member of the Legislature, 
Judge Marmaduke Kimbrough, Thomas Kimbrough, John Hall, 
Judge Wm. Whitehead, Reddits, Edmund G. Whitehead, J. Z. 
George, member of the Secession Convention of 1861, former 
Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, author of George's Digest, 
and twice elected as United States Senator, Joshua Williams, 
Henry Mathews, Steven Johnson, Allen Shankey, Wm. Gallaspie, 
J. A. Lundy, Dr. C. M. Vaiden, nephew of Hon. Cowles Mead, 
who was at one time Secretary of the Mississippi Territory, and 
during the protracted absence of the Governor, acted as Governor, 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 451 

Thomas Heslip, Eobert Crop, Liddells, Dr. Dabney Lipscomb, 
Nat. Clarke, Jones Stanley, Major James Money, Pearson Money, 
father of Hon. H. D. Money, who served several terms in Con- 
gress, Arnolds, Benjamin Eoacb, Jones Mitchell, C. P. Shep 
perd, Elisha and Eeuben Mullins, Annias and Joel H. Pate. 

Chief Greenwood Leflore, of this county, was a man of posi- 
tive character, self-assertive, and when once fixed in his opinions 
hard to move. He formed the acquaintance of General Jackson, 
before he was President, and admired him greatly. 

During the General's service as President, an Indian Agent, 

Mr. M , was appointed for the Choctaws, and his official 

relations brought him frequently in contact with Chief Leflore, 
who finally became suspicious of the agent, and with that charac- 
teristic frankness of the Chief, he sought his removal. The 
agent affected innocence and repelled the charge of corruption 
and misconduct. The Chief was firm, and finally applied to the 
President for his removal, signifying his readiness to make good 
the charges by respectable and disinterested witnesses. The 
President denied the application. The reiteration of the charges, 
and further refusal of the President, carried the Chief to Wash- 
ington City to make the demand in person. On his arrival he 
repaired to the White House, and without circumlocution de- 
manded the removal of the agent, alleging misconduct and dis- 
honesty, and his readiness to submit the proof. The President, 
somewhat annoyed with the Chiefs persistency, said : "I, Andrew 

Jackson, President of the United States, know Mr. to 

be an honest man." The Chief drew himself up to his full height, 
and with his keen, searching black eye steadily fixed on the old 
hero, said : ''I, Greenwood Leflore, Chief of the Choctaw Nation, 
know M to to be a d rascal." 

The President was so impressed with the Chiefs frank manner, 
that he took him by the hand and said : " Greenwood, we have 
long been friends, and as I often said to juries, when a practicing 
lawyer, and while on the bench, 'let justice be done between the 
parties ;' that I now say to you, justice shall be done in this in- 
stance." A few months later, the agent took his departure, and 
a brief letter from the President to Chief Leflore informed him 
that the removal was made. 

Doctor P. W. Peeples, a gentleman of ability, culture and 
pleasant manners, was a surgeon in the Confederate service, and 
is in the broadest sense a man of affairs. He is prominently 



452 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

connected with all enterprises having for their object the pro- 
gress and prosperity of Jackson, the city of his residence. Is 
now President of the Jackson Bank. 

George W. Williamson, father of Judge Eobert W. Williamson, 
a lawyer of ability, who served two terms as Chancellor, is 
now on the Circuit Court bench in the river district. 

The towns are Cai'rollton, the county site, Vaiden, Black 
Hawk and Shongalo. 

The principal streams are Big Black river, Coila, Abattapooda, 
Hays, Pettacona, Big Sand, Palucia, Teoctalia and Abyacha 
creeks. 

The railroads are the Illinois Central and Georgia Pacific. 

The lands on the Big Black river_, which form the southeastern 
boundary of the county, are rich and productive, .and so are the 
creek and branch lands. The hills yield less, but with thorough 
cultivation, good crops are made. ^^ 

There are 197,822 acres of cleared land in the county, the 
average value per acre of which, as rendered to the assessor, is 
$4.12. The total value of cleared lands in the county, including 
incorporated towns, is $980,678.00. 

The population as shown by the census report of 1890 : Whites, 
8,075; colored, 10,698; total, 18,773. 

Senators, Representatives. 

1835 Greenwood Leflore. 

1836 John L. Irwin. 

1837 Wm. M. Brown, John L. Irwin. 

1838-39 Wm. M. Brown, Benjamin Kennedy, Joseph Drake. 

1840 Greenwood Leflore. C. F, Hemingway, John A. Binford. 

1841 Greenwood Leflore, John A Binford, John M. Maury. 

1842 Greenwood Leflore, 

1843 Greenwood Leflore, 

1844 Wm. Booth. Abraham Hardy. 

1846 Wm. Booth, John A. Binford, B Kennedy. 

1848 B. Kennedy, Jas. Liddell, J. Whitmore, G. F, Neil. 

1850 B. Kennedy, C. F. Hemingway, C. M, Vaiden, G. F, NeiL 

1852 C, F. Hemingway. H. H. Southworth, Jas. S. Johnson, W. A, 

Strong, 

1854 C. F. Hemingway. W. B. Helm, C. C. Hight, Wm, J. Strong. 

1856 Wm. Cothran. J. S. Johnson, A. Reeves, S. Hawkins. 

1857 G. F. Neil. J, S, Johnson, A. Reeves, S, Hawkins. 
1858-59 G. F. Neil, James P. Scales. 

1860-61 G. F, Neil. J, P, Scales, J. M Hamilton. 

1861-62 G. F. Neil. W.J, Strong, J. P. Scales. 

1865-66-67 John A. Binford. ' J, M. Liddell, J. W. S. Merrill. 

1870-71 Stephen Johnson. W. L. Hemingway, J. C, McKenzie, H. Pitt- 
man. 

1872-73 Stephen Johnson, W. H. Armistead, F, R. Streater. 

1874 W. H. Parker. M. H. Tuttle, Geo. Washington. 

1874-75-W. H. Parker, M. H. Tuttle, Geo. Washington. 

1876 M. H. Tuttle, H, H. Southworth, C. M. Vaiden, 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 453 

877 M. H. Tuttle. H. II. Southworth, Jas. M. Liddell. 

878 W. D. Peery. Jas. M. Liddell, Jr., Benjamin T. Marshall. 
880 W. D. Peery. T. H. Somerville, H. Talbert. 

882 Jas. M. Liddell. H. C.Williamson, C. B. Turnipseed. 

884 Jas. M. Liddell. . H. C. Williamson, J. S. Johnson. 

886 Jas. R. Binford. H. C, Williamson, L. M. Southworth. 

888 Jas. R. Binford. T. W. Sullivan, L. M. Southworth. 

890 L. M. Southworth. T. W. Sullivan, E. L. Conger. 



CHICKASAW COUNTY 

Was established February 9th, 1836, and so named in memory 
of the Chickasaw Indians, one of the most powerful, warlike, 
implacable and cruel of the aboriginal tribes that ever inhabited 
the soil of Mississippi. 

The Commissioners appointed to organize the county were 
John Delashmit, Eichard Elliott, Thos. Ivy. Mr. Gates and Ben- 
jamin Anderson. 

Among the early settlers were Lewis Isabell, Thos. Lewis and 
Chas. Gates, Thos. Eeed, Warren Harrell, Lewis Moore, John W. 
Donaldson, John May, Headin Harris, John Mcintosh, who in an 
early day was surveyor of the county, and the father of the late 
John Mcintosh, who was the father of that excellent lawyer and 
genial gentleman, Hon. J. E. Mcintosh, who served the county 
most acceptably as member of the Legislature, and is now a 
senior partner of one of the leading law firms of East Mississippi, 
located in the city of Meridian; Judge T. N. Martin, who was 
a member of the State Senate for four years, the father-in-law of 
Hon. W. S. Bates, who was probate judge of Pontotoc county, 
and now an honored member of the Houston bar; Christopher 
Orr, father of Hon. Jas. L. Orr, of South Carolina and Hon. J. A. 
Orr, of the city of Columbus ; the former was Governor of his 
native State, member of Congress and Minister to Eussia ; the 
latter was the first Colonel of the Thirty-first Mississippi Eegi- 
ment^ member of the Confederate Congress, and for some years 
judge of the judicial district in which he resides, and is now 
prominent in the practice of his profession ; Eobert PuUiam, Ben- 
jamin S. Pulliam, father of Major Thos. Pulliam of the Thirty-first 
Mississippi Eegiment; Dr. N. S. Williams^ a prominent and lead- 
ing physician, the father of E. P. Williams, a lawyer of high 
character in the city of Meridian ; Eichard Farr, the father-in- 
law of Eev. Thos. J. Lowry and Eli Gordon ; Benjamin Kilgore, 
who represented the county fifty years ago, the grandfather of 
Gen. J. H. Brinker, of the National Guards who resides at West 



454 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

Point; Ezekiel Fuller, who was a soldier at the battle ot New Or- 
leans ; Jos. Buchanan, the father of Thos. J. Buchanan, Sr., who is 
the father of Judge J. W. Buchanan, for two terms a member of the 
Legislature, Circuit Judge of his judicial district for several years, 
when he resigned and resumed the practice of his profession and 
is now the attorney for the Kansas City, Memphis and Birming- 
ham Railroad, and the father of Dr. J. M. Buchanan, an accom- 
plished physician, and now Superintendent of the East Missis- 
sippi Insane Asylum at Meridian, and of Thos. J. Buchanan, a 
prominent lawyer of Okolona; John Bell, who was a member of 
the Senate from the county for one term ; Benjamin Bugg, Henry 
R. Carter^ T. J. Griffin, who was a member of both branches of 
the Legislature ; Major J. W. Wheeler, Col. Henry Shackleford, 
who was the father-in-law of Gen. W. F. Tucker ; Adam La Grone, 
Captain Geo. Bowen, Anderson Beene, C. C. Marable, Samuel R. 
Evans, father of Major J. S. Evans, of the Eleventh Mississippi 
Regiment, and the father-in-law of Hon. W. M. Inge, who was 
Speaker of the House of Representatives; Henry R. Carter, 
who was the first lawyer who located at Houston, the county 
site, and was very soon followed bj'^ George Freeman, the father 
of General G. Y. Freeman, of the city of Jackson ; later, 
Cyrus D. Baldwin and a few years later General W. S, Feather- 
ston, who has been prominent in the State from his early man- 
hood. When quite a young man he was twice elected to Con- 
gress ; during the war a gallant soldier with the rank of Briga- 
dier-General ; after the cessation of hostilities, he represented his 
county (Marshall) two terms in the Legislature, was subsequently 
Circuit Judge for six years, retired from the bench and re- 
sumed the practice of his profession, and served his county most 
acceptably as delegate to the Constitutional Convention of 1890. 
Afterwards came the late General W. F. Tucker, who first en- 
gaged in teaching school, devoting his leisure time to reading 
law ; he served as Probate Judge of the countj'. Soon after his 
admission to the bar he took high rank as a lawyer; during the 
war he was Colonel of the 41st Mississippi regiment, and pro- 
moted to the rank of Brigadier-General. In 1876 and 1878 he 
represented the county in the Legislature and was a prominent 
figure in the politics of northeast Mississippi. He was the father 
of the present accomplished State Librarian, Miss Rosa Lee 
Tucker. He was a man of great purity of character, and a thor- 
ough christian gentleman. 

The principal towns in the county are Houston, fhe county site, 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 



4r)5 



incorporated in May, 1837, a pretty little town with an excellent 
population; Okolona, of probably two thousand inhabitants, 
which is the location of the 2d Judicial District, where the cir- 
cuit and chancery courts are held. This town is located in a 
rich and fertile prairie on the Mobile and Ohio Railroad, and is 
a place of very considerable commercial importance, with excel- 
lent church and educational advantages, and an intelligent popu- 
lation. Palo Alto, Sparta and Buena Vista, are prosperous vil- 
lages away from the railroad. 

The principal streams are Houlka, Long, Bogue, Culla, Sucha- 
toncha, Chico, Dicks, Soctahoma and Talebonela creeks. 

The Mobile and Ohio railroad traverses the eastern border of 
the county for about fifteen miles. 

Chickasaw county has 129,933 acres of cleared land; average 
value per acre as reported by the assessor, $6.15. The total 
value of cleared lands, including incorporated towns, $1,218,256. 

Chickasaw has a variety of lands and is classed as one of the 
most desirable counties of the State. 

The population of this county as shown by the census of 1890 
—whites, 8,455; colored, 11,436; total, 19,891. 



Senators. 
1837 John Bell. 
i838-'39 John Bell. 

1840 John Bell. 

1 841 Wm. H. Duke. 

1842 Jas. Walton. 

1843 Littlebury Gillum. 
i844-'46 John H. Williams. 
1848 W. R. Cannon. 

1850 W. R. Cannon. 
1852 R. G. Steele. 
1854 R. G. Steele. 

1856 J. W. Rice. 

1857 Chas. R. Jordan. 

1858 Chas. R. Jordan. 
i8s9-'6o-'6i J. M. Thompson. 
i86i-'62 J. T. Griffin. 
i865-'66-'67 T. N. Martin. 
i87o-'7i F. H. Little, F. M. Ab- 



Representatives. 
Benjamin Bugg. 
Henry R. Carter. 
Benjamin Kilgore. 
Benjamin Kilgore. 

Crawford. 

'■ — Crawford. 

Jas. F. Walker. 

Jas. F. Walker, R. G. Steele. 

T. J. Griffin, Wm. K. Hariison. 

Jas. McCrory. 

Eli Abbott, Uriah Porter. 

J. M. Thompson, W. A. Baldwyn. 

J. M. Thompson, R. G. Steele. 

J. L. S. Hill, W. F. Walker. 

J. L. S Hill, T. E. Bugg. 

R. M. Gunn, J. B. Gladney. 

C. C. M. Marable, Benjamin Murry. - 

B. G. Underwood, A. Henderson. 



bott 
i872-'73 F. H. Little, F. M. Ab- J. R. Mcintosh, J. L. Evans. 

bott. 
i874-'75 Nathan Shirley, F. H. 

Little. 
i876-'77 R. O. Reynolds, Nathan 

Shirley. 
1878 R. O. Reynolds, J. T. Grif- 
fin. 
1880 R. O. Reynolds, J. T. Grif- J. W. Buchanan, J. L. S. Hill. 

fin, 
1882 R. O. Reynolds, Samuel L. J. W. Buchanan, N. B. Crawford. 

Wilson. 



Geo. White, Henry Harrison. 
Wm. F. Tucker, J. A. Wilkinson. 
Wm. F. Tucker, J. L. S. Hill. 



456 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

1884 Samuel L. Wilson. N. B Crawford, W. G. Orr. 

1886 Wm. T. Houston. Frank Burkitt, J. A. McArthur, 

1888 Wm. T. Houston. Frank Burkitt, J. W. Winter. 

1890 R. Wharton. J. M. Trice, J. W. Winter. 



CHOCTAW COUNTY 

Was established December 23d, 1833, and named as a memorial of 
the powerful Choctaw tribe of Indians. Among the early settlers 
prior to the organization ot the county were Jacob Starnes, Wm. 
Latham, Wm. Rogers and John Middleton. A few years later 
John Hogg, Wm. Castells, Samuel Berryhill, Thos. Fox, Wm. 
Spencer, Col. W. M. Lewis, J. R. Golding, Col. C. M. Holland, 
Joseph McBride, James McBryde, Col. Gilbert Coffee and M. B. 
Medley moved into the county. 

Portions of this county were taken in the formation of Mont- 
gomery and Webster counties; the former established on the 13th 
of May, 1871, and the latter April 6th, 1874, then called Sumner 
county, but changed to Webster in 1882. 

The towns in the county are Chester, the county site; French 
Camps, at which place there are two flourishing schools, and 
several mineral springs, which are said to contain superior 
medicinal properties ; Dido, LaGrange and New Prospect. 

The more important streams in the county are Big Black river, 
Yockanookana, McCurtains and Labutchie creeks, all of which 
have tributaries. It may be said that the county is well watered. 
The lands in the river and creek bottoms are fertile and give a 
good yield of all products raised in this climate. The hill lands 
produce fairly well and with fertilization give satisfactory crops. 
The Kosciusko, West Point and Aberdeen Railroad passes 
through the southern corner of the county. The Georgia Pacific 
traverses the northern part of the county. 

Iron and coal ore have been found in considerable quantities 
in the county, but up to this time capitalists have made no effort 
to develop it, believing, as it is understood, that the quantity is 
insufficient to justify the establishment of works, or to promise 
reasonable returns for investment. 

Choctaw county has 48,539 acres of cleared land; average value 
per acre, as rendered to the assessor, is $3.08. Total value of 
cleared lands, including incorporated towns, $187,651. 

The population of the county as shown by the census return of 
1890— whites, 8,130 ; colored, 2,717 ; total, 10,847. 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 



457 



Senators. 

1835 
1836 

1837 James Walton. 

1838 James Walton. 

1839 James Walton. 
i840-'4i James Walton. 
i842-'43 James Bond. 
1844 James Bond. 

1846 Edward Johnson. 
1848 Edward Johnson. 
1850 James Drane. 
1852 James Drane. 
1854 James Drane. 
i856-'57 James Drane, 
1858 James Drane. 
i859-'6o-'6i James Drane. 
i86i-'62 James Drane. 
i865-'66-'67 H. D. Stone. 
i870-'7i Thomas W. Castle. 
i872-'73 Thomas W. Castle. 

1874 S. W. Smythe. 

1875 M. A. Metts. 
i876-'77 M. A. Metts. 
1878 James E. Bridges. 
1880 James E. Bridges. 
1882 S. M. Roane. 
1884 S. M. Roane. 

1886 J. W, Barron, H. L. Bur- 
kitt. 

1888 J. W. Barron, A. A. Mont- 
gomery. 

1890 J R. Nolen, A. A. Mont- 
gomery. 



Representatives. 

Wm. Peery. 
Thomas Lindsay. 
Parks Middleton. 
Thomas Hogg, Wm. Dyer. 
Thomas Hogg, Green L. Grant. 
R. S. Graves, James Drane. 

D. M. Johnson. 

John Hawkins, D. M. Johnson. 

George H. Archer, George Huie. 

George Huie, W. M. Trigg. 

George Huie, Wm. Dunlap. 

Wm. H. Armistead, Phil W. Hemphill. 

P. F. Liddell. 

H. D. Stone, P. F. Liddell. 

G. Coffee, J. P. Trotter. 

J. P. Trotter, J. Martin, G. Cofft-e. 

J. H. Edwards, J. Martin, Thomas Fox. 

W. C. Bridges. • 

W. W. Hart, T. P. Connor. 

H. H. Reed, R. F. Holloway. 

T. C. Atkins. 

T. C. Atkins. 

James E. Bridges, S. L. Boyd. 

H. H. Reid, M. H. Allen. 

E. R. Seward, James Drane. 

K. A. Watson, J. W. Armstrong. 
S. R. Hughston. 
T. L Hannah. 

Lafayette Robinson. 

Lafayette Robinson. 



CLAIBOENE COUNTY 

Was established January 27th, 1802, fifteen years prior to the 
adoption of the first constitution. It was named in honor of 
Governor Wm. C. C. Claiborne. Colonel Ealph Humphreys, a 
soldier of the Revolution, grandfather of the late Governor 
Benjamin G. Humphreys, after peace was declared was sent to 
Michilemacenac, a frontier post in the State of Michigan. Be- 
fore leaving for his destination he started his wife and negro 
slaves from South Carolina to the Territory of Mississippi, and 
Mrs. Humphreys located on that famous place, the Grind-Stone 
Ford, on the south fork of Bayou Pierre. She had with her 
her only son, George Wilson Humphreys, the father of the late 
Governor and the grandfather of G. W. Humphreys, now a res" 
ident and planter of Claiborne county. Col. Ealph obtained a 
twelve months' furlough to visit his family, and rode from his 
post in Michigan to Grind-Stone Ford on horseback, where he 
soon afterwards died. His widow married Col, Daniel Burnett, 



458 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

whose father was one of the first settlers of the eoucty. He 
had emigrated from South Carolina, where he had served in 
General Francis Marion's command. Col. Daniel Burnett had 
served in the Territorial Legislature and was a delegate to the 
Constitutional Convention from Claiborne, as was Walter Leake, 
Thomas Barnes and Joshua G. Clarke. Among the early settlers 
were David, James, John, Samuel and Jonathan McCaleb, all 
natives of South Carolina and sons of Captain William McCaleb, 
an officer in the revolutionary war. One of the daughters of 
Samuel McCaleb became the wife of Hon. Solomon W. Downs, 
United States Senator from Louisiana. David McCaleb was a 
member of the Legislative Council under the Territorial gov- 
ernment, and the father oi Hon. Theodore H. McCaleb, for 
twenty years Judge of the District Court of the United States 
for the State of Louisiana. Judge McCaleb was a brilliant, 
scholarly man of fine literary taste. Thomas Farrar, whose 
sons, Frederic H., Thomas P., and Edgar D., were distinguished 
lawyers in Louisiana, two of whom became judges in that State. 
Mr. Farrar was also the grandfather of E. H. Farrar, a promi- 
nent lawyer in the city of New Orleans. Cibson and Davenport, 
merchants. Dr. Daniel Burnett Nailor, William and Parmenas 
Briscoe, Thomas Freeland, William Young, James H. Maurj^, 
father of Mrs. Benjamin G. Humphreys, Stephen D. Carson. 
Henry Gr. Johnson, John Hendei'son, Thomas Gale, William Sil- 
lers, a lawyer and planter, Leonard N. Baldwin, lawyer and 
planter, Peter A. Yan Dorn, father of the distinguished and bril- 
liant Confederate officer, General Earl Van Dorn, and Mrs. Em- 
ily Yan Dorn Miller, the mother of Hon. T. M. Miller, distin- 
guished in his profession, and now serving his second term as 
Attorney-General of the .State, William H. Martin, a lawyer who 
emigrated from Maryland, the father of Hon. Jonathan McMar- 
tin, a lawyer of high standing, who represented Claiborne for 
four years in the State Senate, James I. Person, the father of James 
Person, now a resident of Port Gibson, Dr. Thos. B. Magruder. 
Dr. Robert Harper, Hon. H. T. EUett, who represented the 
county in the State Senate for two terms, a lawyer of distin- 
guished ability and for a number of years one of the Judges of 
the Supreme Court of the State ; John A. Barnes, B. D. Stockton, 
Major James S. Mason, a bright and scholarly man, for many 
years the editor of the Port Gibson Reveille ; John B. Thrasher, 
an uncle of Hon. Stephen Thrasher, the present State Senator 
from Claiborne ; John L. Torrey, Richard Yalentine, Passmore 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 459 

Hoopes, an extensive merchant in Port Gibson and an affable 
gentleman, the father of Mrs. Dr. Winter of the city of Jackson ; 
Samuel H. Abbey, Eobert Hume and Chas. A. Pearson, of the 
firm of Hume & Pearson ; Chas. Shreve, Joseph L. Kennard, Thos. 
Berry, the father of ex-Chancellor Berry, Amos Whiting, Jas. 
and Evan Jeffrey, George Lake, Eobert Scott, Nahum Chunn, 
Joseph B. Jones, Chas. B. Clarke, Cornelius Herring, the Mcln- 
tyres, Wm. Dodson, Volney E. Stamps and Jas. Patton,the latter 
the father-in-law of the late Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, 
Judge E. G. Peyton. 

The towns in the county are Port Gibson, a handsome place of 
some 2,000 inhabitants, and noted for its schools, churches, gen- 
erous hospitality and cultivated people. David Gibson, one of 
the pioneers of the county, was the owner of the plantation upon 
which Port Gibson was located. Grand Gulf in an early day 
was the rival of Port Gibson and came very near being chosen 
as the county site. It was a live little city, shipped about 40,000 
bales of cotton, supported two large hotels, two weekly news- 
papers and was a commercial point of very considerable impor- 
tance. It was, however, subjected to the most trying ordeals. 
The first and second locations caved into the river; the greater 
portion of the buildings were destroyed by fire three times, the 
last time by the Federal troops during the war. Subsequently 
the river made a cut-off just in front of the town, leaving it two 
miles from the main river. The Louisville, New Orleans & Texas 
Railroad became the owners of the short line of railway extend- 
ing from Grand Gulf to Port Gibson, and not only discontinued 
it but took up the rails. This left the place isolated and aban- 
doned, and it may now properly be classed among the memories 
of bygone days j but for its brave struggle against manifold mis- 
fortunes and the elements combined, it deserves a place in history. 
The towns of Rocky Springs, St. Elmo, Hermanville, Carlisle, 
Tillman and Martin, with the exception of Rocky Springs, are 
on tEe Louisville, New Orleans and Texas Railroad. Before the 
days of steamboats. Bayou Pierre at Port Gibson was frequently 
crowded with flat-boats, extending a mile or more along its 
banks. The planters from neighboring counties purchased their 
supplies of flour, pork, potatoes, etc., from these boats. The 
Mississippi river forms the western boundary of the county. 
Bayou Pierre is navigable as a general thing three or four 
months in tbe year by back-water from the Mississippi river. 
Big Black river divides Claiborne and Warren counties. 



460 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 



The railroads in the county are the Louisville, New Orleans & 
Texas and the Natchez, Jackson & Columbus. 

There has been established at Port Gibson a cotton factory, 
which has added to the commerce and population of the town. 

There are in the county 114,137 acres of cleared land, the av- 
erage value of which per acre is $6.48. Total value of cleared 
lands in the county, including incorporated towns, is $1,043,276. 

The population, as shown by the census of 1890 : "Whites, 
3,419; colored, 11,095; total, 14,514. 

Senators. Representatives. 



1820 Henry D. Downs. 

1821 William Willlis. 

1822 Ralph Regan. 

1823 Thos. Freeland. 

1825 Thos. Freeland. 

1826 Thos. Freeland. 

1827 Daniel Burnett. 

1828 Thos, Freeland, 

1829 Thos. Freeland. 

1830 Parmenas Briscoe. 

183 1 Parmenas Briscoe. 
1833 Adam Gordon. 
1835 Parmenas Briscoe. 
1836 

1837 James H. Maury. 
i838-'39 James H. Maury. 
i840-*4i Benj, G, Humphreys, 
i842-'43 Benj, G. Humphreys. 
1844 Parmenas Briscoe. 
1846 Parmenas Briscoe. 
1848 Parmenas Briscoe. 
i85o-'52 Geo. Torrey. 
1854 Henry T. Ellett. 
i856-'57 Henry T. Ellett. 
i858-'59 Henry T. Ellett. 
i86o-'6i Henry T. Ellett. 
1861-62 Henry T, Ellett, 
i865-'66 P. R. Montgomery. 
i870-'7i Green Millsaps. 
i872-'73 Green Millsaps, 
i874-'75 J. J- Smith. 
i876-'77 J. J. Smith, 
1878 Benjamin King, 
1880 Benjamin King. 
1882 John McC. Martin. 
1884 John McC. Martin. 
1886 J. D. Vertner. 

Stephen Thrasher, 
1888 Stephen Thrasher, 
1890 Stephen Thrasher, 



Stephen D. Carson, Wm. Willis, 
Henry G, Johnson, Thomas Freeland. 
Henry G. Johnson. 
Daniel Burnett, Abram Gordon. 

D. D. Downing. 

Wm. Briscoe, l3avid Dickson. 
John Henderson, Joseph Moore. 
John Henderson, Parmenas Briscoe, 
P, Briscoe, Thos, Gale. 
S. R. Montgomery, Adam Gordon. 
B. F. Stockton, James H. Maury. 
John A. Barnes, B. F. Stockton. 
John A. Barnes, B. F. Stockton. 
Davis H, Hoopes, Amos Whiting, 
Davis H. Hoopes. 

B. G. Humphreys, Davis H. Hoopes. 
T. B. Magruder, Isaiah Watson. 

T. G. Mclntyre, Briscoe. 

T. G. Mclntyre, J. T. Mooje. 

H. W. Allen, W. Rossman, 

Richard Valentine. 

Joseph Regan. 

Joseph Regan. 

David S. Patterson. 

W. S, Wilson. 

W. S, Wilson. 

G. W. Humphreys. 

Andrew J. Le»is. 

E. H, Stiles, M, T. Newsom. 
Joseph Smothers. 

J. H. Smothers, Haskin Smith. 
Wm. S, Bean, E. S. Drake. 
Wm. S. Bean, John McC. Martin. 
A. J. Lewis, John McC. Martin. 
T, B. Magruder, E. H. Stiles. 
W. T. Magruder. 
M. R. Jones. 

W. T. Magruder. 
E, M, Barber. 



CLAEKE COUNTY 
Was established in 1833, and so called in honor of Joshua Gr. 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 461 

Clarke, a distinguished chancellor of Mississippi of that name. 
The commissioners appointed to organize the counties of Jasper, 
Clarke and Lauderdale, were Samuel Graj'son, Asa Hartfield, 
Kobert Jones, William Ellis, H, W. Wood, Henry Hale, George 
Evans, C. Dyer, N. Martin and J, Bidswell. 

Among the eai'ly settlers were John Evans, George Evans, 
Eichard Wagster, Henry Hailes, Alex Hailes, Michael McCarty, 
James Bankston, Calvin M. Ludlow, John Williford, William 
Williford, James Risher, J. A. Fontain, John Gunn, Norman 
Martin, Stephen Guice, Thomas F. Hicks, Alex McLendon, 
Roland B. Crosby, Cameron Grayson, Jesse C. Mott, David 
Neely, David B. Thompson, Dabney Edwards, Jacob Slack, John 
Johnston, Alex Trotter, Richard N. Hough, Robert McLaughlin, 
L. D. Phillips, Samuel Lee, Jesse Sumrall, Jeremiah Crane, 
Howell Sumrall, William Goleman, Thomas Goleman, Samuel 
K. Lewis and Thomas Watts. 

The land on which Quitman, (so named in compliment to 
General John A. Quitman,) the county site, was situated, was 
owned and laid off into town lots by General John Watts, after- 
wards and for many years, judge of the circuit court. 

The principal streams are Chunky and Oktibbeha, that form 
the Chickasahay river, that runs centrally through the countyj 
Buckatunna in the eastern, Suanlovee in the western, Archusa in 
the middle, and Shubuta creek in the southern part of the county. 

In the eastern part of the county, near the Alabama line, the 
Methodist church established a mission in the early settlement 
of the country, called "Emmaus," for the benefit of the Choctaw 
Indians. 

Enterprise, now a flourishing town, situated on the Chickasa- 
hay river, a short distance below the junction of the two streams 
that form it, was founded by John J. McRae, afterwards Gover- 
nor of the State. 

He made earnest efforts to navigate the river and succeeded 
in running a steamboat from Lake Ponchartrain to Enterprise and 
return in February, 1842. 

The towns in the county are Quitman, the county site. Enter- 
prise, DeSoto and Shubuta. 

The Mobile and Ohio Railroad runs very nearly through the 
center of the county. The Northeastern Railroad traverses the 
county from a short distance beyond Enterprise to the point 
where it enters Jasper county. 



462 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 



Clarke county is among the best of the pine woods counties, 
with an excellent and thrifty population. 

The Stonewall cotton mills are situated in Clarke county, not 
far from Enterprise, they manufacture most excellent goods and 
give employment to quite a number of operatives. The Wanita 
cotton and woolen mills are situated seven miles northwest of 
Enterprise. 

There are 51,587 acres of cleared lands in the county, the value 
of which per acre, as rendered to the assessor, is $4.09. The 
total value of cleared lands, including incorporated towns, is 
$211,259. 

The population of Clarke county, as shown by the census of 
1890 : whites, 7,717; colored, 8,106; total, 15,823. 



Senators. 

1835 

1836 

1837 Frederick Clarke. 

1838-39 Frederick Pope. 

1840-41 John Watts. 

1842 John Watts. 

1843 

1844 John H. Home. 
1846 John H, Home. 
1 848-' 50 Jas. McDugald. 
i852-'54 R. N. Hough. 
i856-'57 R. N. Hough. 

1858 R. N. Hough, 

1859 '6o-'6i Robt. McLane. 
i86i-'62 Robt. McLane. 
i865-'66-'67 P. H. Napier. 

1870 Wm. M. Hancock. 

1871 John Watt«. 
i872-'73 S. A. D. Steele. 
1874-75 S. A. D. Steele. 
i876-'77 John W. Fewell. 
1878 John W. Fewell. 
1880 L. B. Brown. 

1882 L. B. Brown. 

1884 Jno. F. Smith. 

1886 Jno. F. Smith. 

1888 T. A. Wood. 

1890 T. A. Wood. 



Representatives. 

Sam. K. Lewis. 
Sam. K. Lewis. 
Thos. Watts. 
Allen McLendon. 

Wagster, 

John Allen. 

Henry Hailes. 

Henry Hailes 

Isham Moody. 

Jno. J. McRae. 

Wm. A. Ward. 

Geo. Evans. 

Melancthon Smith. 

Geo. Evans. 

Green C. Chandler. 

S. A. D. Steele. < 

Green C. Chandler. 

Green C. Chandler. 

E. F. Martiniere. 

C. P. Clemens. 

Geo. M. Massingale. 

L. B. Brown. 

Frank C. McGee. 

Samuel H. Terral. 

A. D. Gordon, W. L. Evans, 

O. B. Collins, W. L. Evans. 

C. A. Stovall, A. F. McGee. 

J. B. Johnson, W. D, Wilherspoon. 



CHAPTER XXV. 



CLAY COUNTY, 

NAMED in honor of Henry Clay, was established May 12th, 
1871 ; carved mainly from Lowndes and Chickasaw coun- 
ties, and therefore the history of those counties touching early 
settlers, etc., embrace the territory now comprising this county. 
The first Eepresentative from Clay was J. W. Carradine. Lieut.- 
Governor W. H. Sims and Hon. F. G. Barry represented the 
counties of Lowndes and Clay in 1876-'7. The latter, Mr. Barry, 
was subsequently elected to the forty-ninth and fiftieth Congress. 
He is an able lawyer, of agreeable manners, and a brilliant and 
forcible debater. 

The towns in the county are West Point, the county site, with 
over two thousand inhabitants, situated on the Mobile and Ohio 
railroad. "West Point has outstripped many of the older towns 
in the State, and it goes without saying that it is one of the most 
enterprising, progressive and prosperous county-towns within 
our borders ; the other towns are Tibbee, Palo Alto and Siloam. 

The principal streams are the Tombigbee river, which traverses 
the eastern border, and Tibbee, Line, Houlka and Chickatouchy 
Creeks. 

The railroads in the county are the Mobile and Ohio, the Du- 
rant and Aberdeen branch of the Illinois Central, and the Georgia 
Pacific, all of which pass West Point. 

Clay has 181,517 acres of cleared land ; average value per acre, 
$5.63. 

Total value of cleared lands, including incorporated towns, 
$1,513,189. 

The population of this county as shown by the census of 1890 : 

Whites, 5,552; colored, 13,054; total, 18,606. 

J^ENATORs. Representatives. 

1874-75 J. W. Caradine. 

1876-77 W. H, Sims, F. G. Eari-y. Frank S. White. 
1878 F. G. Barry. T. W. Davidson. 

1S80 John L. Crigler. \V. B. Giinn. 



464 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

1882 John L Crigler. Frank S. White. 

1884 H. L. Burkilt, S. A. Crump, A. J. Russell. 

1876 H. L. Burkitt. Ira P. Beasley, J. C. Hill. 

J. W. Barron. 

1888 A. A. Montgomery, W. B Gunn, T. W. Davidson. 

J W. Barron. 

1890 A. A. Montgomery. W. B. Gunn, T. W. Davidson. 

J. R. Nolen. 



COAHOMA COUNTY 

Was established February 9th, 1836, formed out of the territory 
of the Chickasaw Nation. Coahoma, in the Choctaw language, 
signifies red panther. The name was suggested by Governor 
Alex. G. McNutt. The early population of the county greatly 
exceeded in point of wealth and intelligence the ordinary immi- 
grants to new countries. Robert Friar, who came from Louisiana, 
was the first Representative in the Legislature from the county. 
He settled at the point, now the county site, which bears his 
name. Aaron Shelby, from Kentucky, settled in Coahoma in 
1838 and subsequently served the county as probate judge and 
member of the Legislature. About the same time Dr. Wm. M. 
Brown located in Coahoma, who also represented the county in 
the JJegislature. 

Among the early settlers were Dr. George B. Morrow, Jesse 
A. Smith, Leander Berry, David B. Allen, Dr. J. D. Shaw, 
N. R. Leavell, Joshua and Wm. Hobson, Dr. Morgan Hob- 
son, the family of Norfleets, most of whom settled on the Sun- 
flower river in said county. Then came another class of early 
settlers to Coahoma whose chief source of profit lay in dealing 
in counterfeit money, most of which, both paper and silver, was 
manufactured in the borders of the county. At this early day 
the supplies of the people were obtained from trading boats 
which plied the river. In the course of time these boats became 
the prey of the counterfeiters. One of them, Hugh Tally, was 
elected supervisor of the fifth district, and made President of the 
the Board of Police. Tally was educated, bold, handsome and 
as fastidious in his dress as Beau Brummel. He was said to be 
a follower of John A. Murrell. and the head of the counterfeiters 
and robbers. Eventually secret and cautious measures were taken 
to capture the entire gang. A number of citizens organized and 
contrived to have a trading boat with dry goods and notions in 
front, and a strong cage with a good supply of handcuffs in the 
rear. This boat came to Tally's landing; at the same time a cavalry 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 465 

force visited Tally's neighborhood, capturing such men as were 
known to belong to the gang. The boat made an imposing show 
of goods, and when sales were made if counterfeit money was 
given in payment the purchaser was invited back, leaving his 
goods on the counter, to take a drink of old Bourbon, when the 
door was closed upon him, placed in the cage, forced to observe 
silence, and securely handcuffed. Hugh Tally became a victim 
of the conspiracy. The cavalry came to the river with their con- 
tribution of prisoners. The result of the enterprise was the cap- 
ture of fifteen prisoners, handcuffed in the cage. The river and 
land forces held a consultation, the latter commanded by a 
young lawyer by the name of Howerton. A certain number of 
men were detailed for the work on the boat, and the others sent 
back through the country with the horses to their homes. The 
trading boat was silently rowed into the stream, and when it 
turned a point from the starting place on the shore, the prisoners 
were taken one by one, securely tied, and dropped into the 
stream. The pleadings of those poor creatures, suppressed in 
tone by the threats of the regulators who stood with knife and 
pistol ready to dispatch them, has now been for fifty years 
hushed under the silence of the waves of the great river. Hugh 
Tally pleaded eloquently for his life, promised most important 
disclosures^ plead for the sake of his wife and children to be per- 
mitted to reform his life, but the regulators knew that their 
safety depended upon the despatch of the prisoners ; they de- 
termined that no record should be left, and so he was dropped 
into the stream, and after struggling for awhile, sank to rise no 
more. The counterfeiters were dead, and their executioners, with 
perhaps two exceptions, have gone to meet them beyond the river. 

Coahoma is one of the richest of the Mississippi alluvial coun- 
ties. It has been the home for fifty years of ex-Grovernor and 
ex-Senator James L. Alcorn, whose public career is mentioned 
elsewhere in this volume. The first county site was Port Eoyal 
at the eastern point of Horse-Shoe Bend. The present countj^ 
site is Friar's Point. Clarksdale is a prosperous business town 
in the county, rapidly improving in wealth and population. 
Jonestown and other places do a reasonably good trade. The 
Mississippi river washes the western boundary of the county • 
other streams are, the Sunflower river, Hobson's, Phillip's, 
Price's, Moore's, Whiting's, Cassedy's and Opossum bayous. 
There are two railroads in the county. 

There is in Coahoma 78,233 acres of cleared land ; average 
30 



466 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 



value as rendered the assessor, $15.55 per acre; total value of 
cleared lands, including incorporated towns, $1,385,146. 

The population of Coahoma as shown by the census returns of 
1890: Whites, 2,162 ; colored, 16,161; total, 18,323. 

Representatives. 



Senators, 

1837 James D. Hallam. 

1838 James D. Hallam. 

1839 Felix Walker. 

1840 Alfred Cox. 

1841 Jas. M. Matlock. 
i842-'43 Andrew Knox. 
1844 Andrew Knox. 
1846 Felix Lavauve. 
l848-'50 Jas. L. Alcorn. 
1852 Jas. L. Alcorn. 
1854 Ja--. L. Alcorn. 
i856-'57 I. N. Davis. 
1858 I. N. Davis. 
i859-'6o_'6i J. E. Talliaferro 
i86i-'62 J. E. Talliaferro 
1865 H. Mosely. 

i866-'67 H. Mosely. 

1870 A. S. Dowd. 

1871 A. S. Dowd. 
1872-73 C. M. Bowles. 
1874 C. M. Bowles. 
i874-'75 Geo. C. Smith. 
i876-'77 Jas. R. Chalmers. 
1878 G. W. Gayles. 

1880 G. W. Gayles. 
1882 G. W. Gayles. 
i884-'86 G. W. Gayles. 
1888 Jno. W. Cutrer. 
1890 Jno. W. Cutrer. 



Robert C. Friar. 
W. J. Oldham. 

Aaron Shelby. 
Aaron Shelby^ 

Brown. 

Jas. L. Alcorn. 
Thos. N. Nash. 
Jno. W. King. 
Geo. H. Mitchell. 
Jas L. Alcorn. 

P. M. Grant. 
H. C. Chambers. 
W. H. Atkinson. 
Jas. L. Alcorn. 

Peace. 



John Corcoran. 

Joseph E. Monroe. 

Joseph E. lyionroe. 

Joseph E. Monroe. 

Harrison P. Keid. 

D. M. Russell. 

G. W. Wise. 

Jno. W. Cutrer, Wm. Allen. 

W. H. Stovall, D. H. Hopson. 

S. C. Cook, G. H. Oliver. 



COPIAH COUNTY 

Was established January 23d, 1824. Among the first settlers 
were Daniel Clower. Leonard Kimbrue, John Cores, Jacob 
Haley, Joseph Brown, the father of Albert G. and Edmund E. 
Brown. The career of the former is mentioned elsewhere in these 
pages. Gov. Brown's only son, Joseph A. Brown, Esq., is a 
thoroughly educated and well equipped lawyer, residing in the 
city of Jackson and is engaged in the practice of his profession. 
He was for a number of years one of the reporters of the deci- 
sions of the Supreme Court ; Jesse Thompson, the father of 
Jesse and J. Harvey Thompson, men of standing and high char- 
acter ; the latter represented the county in the Legislature and 
was for years a successful and extensive merchant ; he is the 
father of Hon. Eobt. H. Thompson, of Brookhaven, who is de- 
servedly classed among the able and learned lawyers of the 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 467 

State ; has been a member of the State Senate and was a delegate 
to the Constitutional Convention of 1890. J.Harvey Thompson 
was the grandfather of Miss Clara Chrisman, an educated and 
accomplished young lady, who was on her way as a missionary 
to Brazil and lost her life in the Johnstown disaster ; John 
W. Matthews, who left numerous descendants still residing 
in the county. John A. Mallory, Judge Isaac E. Nicholson ; the 
two latter moved to Hinds county. Hon. E. Gr. Peyton, a learned 
and painstaking lawyer, who was district attorney nearly half a 
century ago ; after the war he was elected to Congress, but with 
other Kepresentatives of the State at that time, denied admission; 
subsequently he was appointed by Governor Alcorn one of the 
judges of the Supreme Court and became its Chief Justice. His 
son, the late E. Gr. Peyton, was chancellor of his district for eigh- 
teen years, in which position he made a most enviable reputation, 
and was regarded by the bar as being among the foremost chan- 
cellors of the State. Buckner Harris, who served acceptably as 
circuit judge of his district, after which he removed to Texas. 
Franklin E. Plummer, referred to elsewhere ; Seth Corley, 
Wm. K. Perkins, Benj. Kennedy, who was a member of the Con- 
stitutional Convention of 1832 and afterwards State Senator 
from Carroll county ; George M. Barnes, Evans Spencer and Seth 
Granberry, who was a representative in both branches of the 
Legislature ; Wra. P. Kose, a delegate to the Constitutional Con- 
vention of 1882 ; Edmund King, father of Hon. Benj. King, a suc- 
cessful lawyer, member of the State Senate, and in 1881, the 
Independent candidate for Governor of the State ; Thos. Keller, 
who was probate judge of the county; Judge Barney Allen, 
Daniel Magee, John Guynes, John Pritchard, James and Middle- 
ton Beesley, Elijah Vardeman, Revs. John J. E. Byrd, Peter 
James, Elisha Lott, Thos. Nixon and Hardy Mullins, all of 
whom were Methodist ministers in an early day, and dedicated 
their lives to the work of the blessed Master, as did Rev. James 
Bailey and Wm. Martin, Baptist ministers ; John Aired, Reuben 
Leech, Isom Ferguson, James and William Mullins, Wm. Millsaps, 
John Wheat, father of Rev. Dr. J. J. Wheat, an eminent divine, 
and accomplished scholar, who was for many years Professor of 
Greek at the State University of Mississippi, and more recently 
a presiding elder in the North Mississippi Conference ; Samuel N 
Gilliland, who removed to, and represented Attala county in the 
State Senate; John G. Witherspoon, the father of Colonel Wm, 
Witherspoon, of theoGth regiment; Peachy and Dr. Talliaferro, C. 



468 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

B. N. Eice, John C. Wade, Edwin Barnlee,Phil.S. Catchings, State 
Senator from the county, James R. Harris, Henry Strong, Dr. 
Grant, Jacob Hill, Dr. Wm. Myles, a physician of ability and 
wide experience, the father of Dr. Robt. Myles, who, as a young 
physician, was greatly honored by being with Sir Morell McKen- 
zie in the treatment of Emperor Frederick of Grermany ; Dr. 
Myles invented the instrument that was used in the treatment of 
the Emperor's throat. After he returned to America he located 
in New York, where he has taken high rank as a physician. He 
was also the father of Gren. F. F, and Beverly Myles, two well 
known business men of New Orleans ; Wm. Lloyd, Noel Catch- 
ings, Thos. Ramsey, Henry Guynes, Benj. Catchings, Frank 
Bridges, John Pierce, Wm. and Ransom Graves, David McRee, 
Samuel P. and Thomas L. Beacham, Robt. E. Harris, L. B, 
Harris, a leading member of the bar. Dr. A. Baker, John T. 
Buie, John G. Gilchrist, Calvin Blue, Reuben Millsaps, the 
father of Major R. W. Millsaps, a gentleman of easy for- 
tune, who has recently endowed the Methodist College to 
be established at Jackson, with $50,000. He had a hard strug- 
gle in early life, but is an example to young men of what 
can be accomplished by well directed energy and industry. 
After the advantages derived from neighborhood schools he went 
to Indiana, and while there gave evidence of his financial 
ability. He organized a ''College mess," which for economy 
was never excelled in the Hoosier State. After graduating at 
Asbury college, he taught school in Warren county for two years^ 
and then went to Harvard law school, where he graduated 
and soon after located in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. He enlisted in 
the Ninth Arkansas Regiment, and became its Major, was de- 
tailed and served on Major-General Loring's staff for some time. 
Major Millsaps is a man of affairs and now President of the 
Capital State Bank. Wm. Black, father of Rev. Dr. W. C, 
Black, who is held in high esteem by his church, now pastor of 
the Methodist church in Jackson. Doctor Lockwood, father of 
the accomplished physician now residing at Crj^stal Springs. 
Thomas Walsh, a lawyer, who died many years ago; Aaron Mil- 
ler, Dr. Charles Harris, Lott W. and George Ellis, Stephen Till- 
man, State senator, Elisha Greenlee, Duncan McRae, Geo. Rea, 
Fred. Purcer, Wm. Bai'nes, W. N. Green, Thos. Millsaps, Wm. 
Cooper, the father of Judge Tim. E. Cooper, a lawyer of, distin- 
guished ability, who is serving his second term on the Supreme 
Court bench, and was for several years the Chief Justice; Judge 



HISTORY OF MTSSIS8IPPI. 469 

Herman Mayes, a gentleman of high character, and an able and 
accurate lawyer; Samuel Dodds, the father of Hon. George S. 
Dodds, who has served the county two terms in the State Senate, 
and received a flattering vote in 1890 for the Congressional nom- 
ination; Eev. Henry Conn, father of the able young Chancellor 
that presides in the Ninth Chancery District; Morris Cook, Frank 
Eembert, father of Doctors Geo. W. and Isom B. Eembert, both 
dental surgeons of high character, the former practicing in the 
city of Natchez and the latter in Jackson. Eobert Miller, father 
of Hon. Eobert Miller, who represented the county in the Legis- 
lature, and twice elected District Attorney of his Judicial Dis- 
trict, a lawyer of acknowledged ability and a most indefatigable 
and efficient prosecuting attorney. Zadock Hooker, father of 
Hon. Charles E. Hooker, who represented Hinds county in the 
Legislature^ was District Attorney when quite a young man, 
served one term as Attorney-General of the State, and has 
been seven times elected to Congress. Col. Hooker is an orator 
of wide reputation, fine presence, polished and courtly manners. 
Samuel J. Morehead, Benj. Hawkins, B. F. Granberry, Elbert 
Ferguson, C. A. Eay, Samuel Eowan, Jacob Millsaps, who was 
Probate Judge of the county, Jas. Cammack, W. J. Willing, Isaac 
Hennington, Fletcher Enochs, Wm. Cook, who served the county 
many years as sheriff, Matt. Norman, John C. Sexton, the father 
of several sons, one of whom, Hon. James S. is a lawyer of high 
character, and was a member from the State-at- large of the Con- 
stitutional Convention of 1890, and of Dr. Luther Sexton, a 
prominent physician in the county, and occupies high rank in 
his profession, and of Hon. J. F. Sexton, who represented the 
county in the Legislature. 

The principal towns in Copiah are Hazlehurst, the county site, 
eligibly located, with a population of two thousand of more ; 
Crystal Springs, a handsome little town with a population of 
probablj^ one thousand, widely known for its extensive truck- 
farming and growing of fruit; Beauregard, which was almost 
entirely destroyed by a cyclone in 1883, and only partially re- 
built; Wesson, named for Col. J. M. Wesson, the founder of the 
cotton mills at that place, with a population probably of three 
thousand five hundred ; Martinsville, Gallman and old Gallatin, 
the first county site. 

The principal streams in the county are Pearl river, forming 
the eastern boundary, Bahala, Copiah, Homochitto, Foster's and 
Brushy creeks, also Bayou Pierre. 



470 



HISTORY OF JVIISSISSIPPI. 



The Illinois Central Railroad traverses the county from north 
to south, passing through all the towns mentioned except Galla- 
tin. The lands of Copiah are above average, and adapted to the 
growing of all products and fruits of this climate. 

The Mississippi Mills, at Wesson, one of the largest in the 
South, has been for many years, most successfully managed by 
Capt. Wm. Oliver. Copiah enjoys church and educational ad- 
vantages, and has an intelligent, progressive and prosperous 
population. 

There are in the county 228,161 acres of cleared land; the 
average value per acre, $3.55. The total value of cleared lands, 
including incorporated towns, is $1,571,045. 

The population as shown by the census report of 1890 — whites, 
14,602 ; colored, 15,630 ; total, 30,232. 

Senators. 
i825-'26 Harden D. Runnels. 

1827 John L Irwin. 

1828 John L. Irwin. 

1829 John L. Irwin. 

1830 Benjamin Kennedy. 

1831 Beniamin Kennedy. 

1832 Buckner Harris. 

1835 Solomon Tracey. 

1836 Seth Cranberry. 

1837 Seth Cranberry, 
l838-'39 Seth Cranberry. 

1840 Seth Cranberry, 

1841 Seth Cranberry. 
i842-'43 Seth Cranberry. 
1844 Stephen Tillman. 
1846 Stephen Tillman. 
1848 P. S Catchings. 
1850 P. S, Catchings, 
1852 P. S. Catchings. 
1854 M. A. Banks. 

1856 M. A. Banks. 

1857 M. A. Banks. 

1858 P. S. Catchings. 
i859-'6o-'6i P. S. Catchings. 
i86i-'62 E. R. Brown. 

: i865-'66 Benjamin King. 
i870-'7i-'72 Creen Millsaps. 
1873 Creen Millsaps. 
i874-'75 J. J. Smith. 
i876-'77 J. J, Smith. 
1878 Benjamin King. 
1880 Benjamin King. 
1882 J. McC. Martin. 
1884 J. McC. Martin, T, A Dick- 



son. 
1886 Ceo. 

son. 
1888 Ceo, 

ley. 
1890 Ceo 

ley. 



Dodds, T. A. Dick- 
Dodds, Alex. Fair- 
Dodds, Alex, Fair- 



REI'RKSENTATIVES. 

Isaac R. Nicholson. 

Isaac R. Nicholson, S. N. Gilleland. 

Samuel Cillelend, S. Cranberry. 

W. N. Miller, Benjamin Kennedy. . 

Seth Cranberry, E. C. Peyton. 

Daniel B. Egan, Seth Cranberry. 

Barnabas Allen, John Beasley. 

Barnabas Allen, Seth Cranberry, 

A. C. Brown, B. Harris, S. T. Scott. 

A. C. Brown, Burnley D. Norman, 

J. B. Reid, A. C. Brown, S, Tillman. 

L. W. Ellis, Wm. Graves, 1). Shoemaker, 

Wm. Barnes, L. W. Ellis, D. Shoemaker, 

Jno. R. Enochs, L. W. Ellis. 

Ceorge Ellis, R. E. Harris. 

R. E. Harris, J H. Thompson. 

J. K. Hill, John Holden. 

W. F. Martin, B. F, Nelson, 

Wm. W. Martin, Edwin R, Brown. 

Edwin R. Brown, John N. Catchings, 

Edwin R. Brown. 

Seth Corley. 

John H. Thompson, John Fatheree. 

C. W. Elhs, T. H. Wheeler. 
E, H, Allen, John Fatheree. 
A. P. Barry, A. Hunter. 
W. J. Willing, Jr., Emanuel Handy, 

D, Bufkin, Emanuel Handy. 

D. Bufkin, R. Chrismas. 
(leorge W, Miller, Elias A. Rowan. 
R. N. Miller, Joseph H. Catchings. 
J. W. Buffkin, T. W. McNeill. 
Ceorge S. Dodds, A. B. Guynes. 
A. B, Guynes, E. A. Rowan, 

E. A. Rowan, T. J. Millsaps. 
J. F. Sexton, J. L. Ramsey. 
J. F. Sexton, T. J, Millsaps, 



HISTORY OF MlSyiSSllM'I. 471 

COVINGTON COUNTY 

Was namod tor General Covington, who foil in tlui wkv of IS 12-1 ft, 
and established January 5th, 18U). Among the first settlers of 
the count}' were (rawon Harris, Win. lioed, .Ins. McAfee, Joseph 
McAfee, Johii Ship, who was the first Representative in the Leg- 
islature from the county ; A. L. Ilatton, John Colbert, ITanson 
Alsbury, Aaron Lowe, Fred. Pope, served the county as shci'ifT, 
State Senator and probate judge ; Alexander IIar|)er, jit onetime 
probate judge of the county ; Archie McCallum, Duncan Buch- 
anan, father ot Hon. George C Buchanan, who repin^sented the 
county in the Legislature; l^eter McNair, the lather of Martin, 
Reuben, James, Angus and Gen. i^ivandor McNair ; the latter com- 
manded an Arkansas Brigade of Infantry during the war ; the 
family of McLaurins, among whom were Ju<lge Daniel, John D. 
and Gen. Cornelius McLaurin, also Hon. Duncan McLaurin, who 
represented the county in the Legislatures .ru<lg(i Daniel and 
Duncan McLaurin were leading men in the <H)unty, and prior to 
the war the largo family of Mcljaurins were gentlemen of »'asy 
fortune; Tleuben Watts, the father of Dr. Van li. Watts, a dental 
surgeon of Brookhaven; John Watts, who re])resented the county 
in the State Senate fifty years ago, and the father-in-law of .Fudge 
John E. McNair, was Circuit Judge of the judi(!ial district in 
which he resided for a number of years and «mjoye(l until the 
day of his death the unbounded confidence of the people of South 
and East Mississippi ; Anselm H. and Brewster Jayne, native.** 
of Long Island ; the former was a merchant and did an extensive 
business at .faynesville ; he was the father of the late Hon. Jos. 
M. and Wm. Jayne, both of whom were liberally edu(;ated. Jos. 
M. twice represented Kankin county in the Legislature, and was 
a Colonel in the Confederate army ; his only son who bears his 
father's name represented Ilankin county in the Ijegislature, a>id 
is now a practicing lawyer in Greenville; has roj)resented Wash- 
ington county in the State Senate. Wm. .Tayne was the fatluu-of 
several sons and one daughter; two of his sons, K. K. and Anselm 
H. reside at the Capital of the State; the latter a well road law- 
yer, and both educated, intelligent young men ; Jack Byrd, the 
families of Rogers and Duckworth; Dr. A. If. Hall, an intelligtMit 
and able physician, who is the father of Evans Hall, the capable 
and popular Clerk of the Circuit and Chancery Courts of Cox- 
ington county; Jas. Edmonson, the father of Hon. ('. M. Edmofi- 
son, who^represented the count3Mn the Legislature; Alexander 



472 



HISTORY OF MIfiSISSIPPt. 



McCloud, father of Hugh McCloud ; Wm. McDonald, father of 
Rev. Claiborne McDonald ; Wm. and Neil Matheson ; the latter 
represented the county in the Legislature ; A. C. Powell, Wm. 
Easterling, Col. W. K. Easterling, who represented Rankin 
county in the Legislature and was Colonel of an Infantry Regi- 
ment during the late war. 

The towns in the county are Williamsburg, the county site, Mt. 

Carmel and Jaynesville. The principle streams are: Buie, 

Okatoma, Dry, Burtons and Rogers creeks. 

The county has 81,360 acres of cleared land; average value per 
acre $3.60. Total value, including incorporated towns $114,978. 

The population as shown by the census of 1890 : Whites, 
.5,305 ; colored, 984 ; total 8,289. 



Senators. 

1820 Howell W. Runnels. 

1821 Howell W. Runnels. 
1S22 Bartlett C. Barry. 
1823 Bartlett C. Barry. 

1525 Bartlett C. Barry. 

1526 William Downing. 

1527 Hamilton Cooper. 
iS28-'29 Ham Iton Cooper, 
1S30 Thomas S. Sterling. 

I S3 1 A. M. Keegan. 
1S33 Charles Lynch. 
1S35 Richard A. Hargis 
1S36 

1837 Frederick Pope. 
i838-'39 Frederick Pope. 
i840-'4i John Watts. 
1S42 John Watts. 

i844-'46 John H. Horn. 
1S48 Joseph McAfee. 
1S50 Joseph McAfee. 
1S52 Joseph McAfee. 
1854 Graves. 

1556 S. B. Hathorn. 

1557 S. B. Hathorn. 
1858 S. B. Hathorn. 
i859-'6o-'6i W. J. Rankin. 
1S61-62 W. J. Rankin. 

■ i865-'66-'67 John F. Smith. 
l870-'7i John Gartman. 
iS72-'73 T. J. Hardy. 
1874-75 T. L. Mendenhall. 
iS76-'77 T, L. Mendenhall. 
1S7S Stanley Gibert. 
1880 Stanley Gibert. 
1882 James S. Eaton. 
1884 thos. A. Dickson. 
1886 Thos. A. Dickson, Geo. S. 

Dodds. 
1888 Alex. Fairley, George S. 

Dodds. 
1S90 Alex. Fairley, George S. 

Dodds. 



Representatives. 
John Ship. 
Gawen Harris. 
Gawen Harris. 
Wm. Reed. 
Jas. McAfee. 
Joseph McAfee. 
A. L. Hat ten. 
John Colbert. 
Hanson Alsbury. 
Morgan McAlee. 
Elam S. Ragan. 
Elam S. Ragan. 
Elam S. Ragan. 
Elam S. Ragan. 
Jesse McAfee. 
Aaron Lowe. 
John Gartman. 
Joseph McAfee, 
Joseph McAfee. 
D. McLaurin, 
Willis Magee. 
Samuel B. Hathorn. 
W. J. Lott. 
W. J. Lott. 

Magee. 

V. L. Terrell. 
V. L. Terrell. 
John McRaney. 
John McRaney. 
John Gillis. 
Geo. C. Buchanan. 

John T. Fairley. 
John T, Fairley. 
Neil Matheson. 
Neil Matheson. 
W. L. Stiahan. 
R. J. Magee. 

N. C. Hathorn. 

C, M. Edmondson, 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 473 

desoto county 

Was established February 9th, 1836, and named in honor of Her- 
nando De Soto, the famous discoverer of the Mississippi river. 
The history of this county embraces that of Tate, the latter hav- 
ing been established in 1873, and taken mainly trom the terri- 
tory of De Soto. 

About one-eighth of the county is situated in the great allu- 
vial valley, and the other divided between what is known as rich 
table and high rolling lands, all fertile and productive. 

The commissioners charged with the duty of organizing the 
county were Felix H. Walker, John D. Martin, Beverly G. 
Mitchell and Messrs. Cartright and Mosely, the full names of the 
two last not given. 

C. B. Payne was the first sheriff of the county, Huky Brown 
first president of the Board of Police ; Humphrey Cobb first pro- 
bate judge; S. T. Cobb first clerk of the probate court, and Eob- 
ert Atchison, first clerk of the circuit court. The first courts 
were held in a small log house, and often litigants were outside 
pending the trial of their cases. Eeuben Branch, an early pio- 
neer from North Carolina, kept the first hotel at Hernando. 

Among the early settlers of the county were the Bynums, 
Lundys and Turners. They were from Virginia, and brought 
with them wealth and energy, as well as many of the popular 
sports of the "Old Dominion," such as horse-racing, the chase 
with hounds, cock-fighting, gander-pulling, etc. These families 
located near Horn Lake, amassed fine estates, and were widely 
known as honorable, prominent and prosperous people. 

From Georgia was Simeon Oliver, who located near Hernando. 
Mr. Oliver became prominent in politics, and was repeatedly 
elected by the Democratic party to the State Senate. General 
Tate, a citizen of the old Roman type, came from Georgia, and 
was, by the Whig party, elected to the State Senate. 

William White, than whom no country ever bad a more vir- 
tuous and good citizen, was among the early settlers of Her- 
nando, bringing with him his son, that excellent lawyer, model 
citizen and christian gentleman, the late Col. Thomas W. White. 
They have both "crossed over the river," but left as a legacy to 
their children the character of high moral worth, intelligence 
and patriotism. 

E.. R. West, now passed his three score years and ten, came to 
De Soto county when quite young and without fortune. He was 



474 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

possessed of high character, and is now, and has been for many 
years, clerk of the chancery court. 

Dr. Henry Dockery, from the old Pee-dee, came to the county 
at an early day, and not only won deserved distinction in his 
profession, but also as a successful planter. Dr. W. E. Love was 
another successful physician and planter. 

W. H. Johnson, from Kentucky, was for years a prosperous 
merchant at the county site, and is now School Superintendent 
of the county. T. Y. Caffey came from North Carolina when a 
boy. 

Col. Buckner, Major Connelly and J. P. Cambell were among 
the early and prominent lawyers of the county. 

Among the early settlers may be mentioned the families of 
Blockers, Laughters, B. F. Condra, Saunders, Lyon, Stubble- 
field, Dockery, McGrowan, McCullens, Johnson, Blam, Hudson, 
Matthews, McKinney, Barks, Joyner, Jones, Jordan, Payne, 
Ponders, Holloway, H. C. Pajme, Dr. B. B. Buchanan and Dr. 
W. H. McCargo. 

Another early settler and remarkable character was Hon. 
Felix Labauve. His father was a Marshal under the great Na- 
poleon, and died, as did his mother, about the time the empire 
ceased to exist. Felix when a child was brought to America by 
two uncles, who settled in South Carolina, near Camden, soon 
after which both died, leaving the boy alone to carve his fortune 
as best he could. Uneducated, but with a bright intellect and 
full of energy, he commenced the great battle of life single-handed 
and alone. When young he reached the county of De Soto and 
entered upon the career of a merchant, confidence and energy 
constituting the bulk of his capital. He was elected county clerk 
and a number of times to the Legislature. 

In official life he had the courage of his convictions. The bene- 
ficiaries of his bounty will preserve his memory for generations, 
when others of much greater fortune will be forgotten. He gave 
by his last will five thousand dollars to a distant relative in 
France ; $500 each, to two poor widows who had been kind 
to him when a youth, and the remainder, about $20,000, to 
be invested and the interest appropriated to the education of 
orphan boys in DeSoto county, at the State University. The 
late Col. T. W. White was trustee of this fund, and by judicious 
investment, the interest has equipped nine or ten young men for 
useful lives. 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 



475 



The pioneers of DeSoto county, were in the main, men of 
energy and enterprise and more than ordinary intelligence. 

The Kansas City and Birmingham Railroad runs through the 
northern part of the county ; the Mississippi and Tennessee, now 
a part of the Illinois Central, through the center, and the Louis- 
ville, New Orleans and Texas through the western part of the 
county. 

The towns in the county are Hernando, the county site, 
adopted in honor of the christian name of the great Spanish 
discoverer, Horn Lake, Pleasant Hill and Olive Branch. 

The streams are : Coldwater, B3'halia and Camp Creeks. 
The county fronts the Mississippi river about 12 miles. 

In addition to the production of cotton and grain, the dairy and 
truck farming interests are growing and proving profitable. 

DeSoto county has 185,292 acres of cleared land ; average 
value per acre, as rendered to the assessor, $6.17. Total value 
of cleared lands, including incorporated towns, $1,297,914. 

Population : whites, 6,862 ; colored, 17,319; total, 24,181. 



1837 
1838 

1839 
1840 
1841 
1842 

1843 
1844 
1846 
1848 



Senators. 

James D. Hallam. 
James D. Hallam. 
Felix Walker. 
Alfred Cox. 
Jas. M. Matlock. 
Andrew Knox. 
Andrew Knox. 
Andrew Knox. 
Felix Labauve. 
Felix Labauve. 



1850 Jas. M. Tail, 
1852 Jas. M. Tait. 

1854 Simeon Oliver. 

i856_^Simeon Oliver. 

1857 Simeon Oliver. 

1858 Simeon Oliver. 
i859-'6o Simeon Oliver. 
i86i-'62 Simeon Oliver. 
i865-'66-'67 W. H. McCargo. 
1870-71 Horatio N. Ballard. 

i872-'73 M.Campbell, J. G. Hol- 

loway. 
l874-'75 M. Campbell, J. G. Hol- 

loway. 
1876 C. G.Callicott, J. B. Morgan. 



RErRESENTATIVES. 

Felix H. Walker, 

Richard C. Hancock. 

Richard C. Hancock. 

F. C. Talbert. 

Joseph Johnson. 

Joseph Johnson. 

H. H. Coleman. 

H. Coleman, F. Labauve. 

J. W. Campbell, H. Robinson. 

R. C. Hancock, J J. Williams, J. W. Camp 

bell. 
J. P, Anderson, S. D. Johnson, B. L. Roselle 
Thos H, Wood, D. N. Harris, W. D. Lack 

land. 
Thos. W. White, B. L. Rozelle, Jas. R 

Milam. 
Jas, E- Matthews, J. M. Greer, W, R. Har 

ley. 
Jas. E. Matthews, J. M. Greer, M. P. John 

son. 
C. G. Nelms, V. H. Merriweather. 
J. C. Culbertson, J. D. Ruffin, M. D. Johnson 
W. K. Love, S. D. Johnson, M. U. Johnson 
W. T. Cole, T. P. Manning, F. Labauve. — 
M. Campbell, J. V. Walker, G. P. Carring 

ton. 
H. Hall, O. F. West, Thos. McCain, A. W 

Smith, J. H. Johnson. 
J. H. Thompson, Thos. McCain, L. W 

Mackey. 
Wm. H. McCargo, Samuel Powel, J. D 

Nichols. 



476 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

1877 C. G. Callicott, J. B. Mor- Wm. H. McCargo, Wm. Raines, J. D. 

gan. Nichols. 

1878 C. G. Callicott, J. B. Mor- Thos. C. Dockery, D. McKenzie, T. H, W. 

gan. Wall. 

1880 Jas. B. Perkins. H. C. Watson, A. Myers, A. W. Huddle- 

ston. 

1882 V. B. Waddell. Job Harral, J. M. Cranberry, C. A Marshall. 

1884 Samuel Powel. J. W. Odom, Elias Alexander. 

1886 Samuel Powel. A. S. Buchanan, A. S. Meharg. 

1888 C. A. Marshall. L. W. Williamson, J. M. Cranberry. 

1890 C. A. Marshall. L. W. Williamson, T. C. Dockery. 



FEANKLIN COUNTY 

Was established December 21st, 1809, and was named in honor 
of Dr. Benjamin Franklin, one of the most distinguished diplo- 
matists, statesmen and philosophers of the generation in which 
he lived. 

The county was represented in the Constitutional Convention 
of 1817 by John Shaw and James Knox, and that of 1832 by 
Daniel McMillan. 

Among the earlier settlers of the county were Judge Edward 
Turner, who presided with distinction both on the Circuit and 
Supreme Court benches; Joseph Sessions, Littleton Munday, 
William Calvit, Daniel Shell, John McDaniel, John Cameron, 
John King, Elijah Gates, Judge William Proby, Jeremiah Beach, 
Dana Herring, Aaron Herring, John Higdon, Daniel Higdon, 
Eansom Buckley, Jesse Sessions, the father of Major J. F. Ses- 
sions, who has served in both branches of the Legislature, and 
is now one of the members and President of the Railroad Com- 
mission of the State ; Needham Lee, Solomon Newman, the 
Gruices, McMillans and Kennisons, Thomas Cotton, Ben Scott, 
Willis Magee, the grandfather of Judge Thomas A. Magee, who 
has served in the Legislature and other positions of trust and 
honor; Levy Godbold, Joseph and William Porter, James and 
John Calcote, William Cads, John Noble, H. M. Oneal, Isaac 
Ransawl, Nathan Smith, George Lambright, John Anding, James 
Godbold, Nicholas Lazarus, Levi Bright, Sr., James Cupit, 
Thomas and James Maxwell, Sutton Byrd, George and Adams 
Clay. 

The towns in Franklin county are Meadville, the county site, 
fourteen miles east of the Louisville, New Orleans and Texas 
Railroad, Hamburg, Roxie, Knoxville and Garden City, all situ- 
ated on the Louisville, New Orleans and Texas Railroad, that 
runs through the western portion of the county for about 30 miles. 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 



477 



The streams are Homochitto River, Middle Fork, Morgan's 
Fork, Beaver Creek, Wells Creek, Cameron Creek, Fifteen Mile 
Creek, Magee's Creek, which took its name from Willis Magee, 
who was the first settler on its banks, McCall's Creek, named for 
Thomas McCall, the first settler upon that stream, Porter's and 
Middleton's Creeks. 

The river and creek bottom lands are most excellent, while 
the hill lands by fertilization give satisfactory crops. 

The county is well timbered and watered, and the population 
thrifty and reasonably prosperous. 

Franklin county has 45,887 acres of cleared land ; average 
value per acre as rendered to the assessor is $1.80. Total value 
of cleared lands, including incorporated towns, $155,791. 

The population as shown by the census of 1890 : Whites, 
Total, 10,325. 

Representatives. 



5,454; colored, 4,871. 

Senators. 



1820 Armstrong Ellis. 

1 821 Cowles Mead. 

1822 John R. Brown. 

1823 John R. Brown. 

1825 John R. Brown. 

1826 Charles C. Slocumb. 

1827 Thomas Torrence. 

1828 Thomas Torrence. 

1829 William Jackson. 

1830 William Jackson. 

1831 William Jackson. 
1833 Archibald Smith 
1835 David Davis. 
1836 

1837-38-39 Hugh Montgomery 
1840-41 P. O. Hughes. 

1842 P. O. Hughes. 

1843 P- O- Hughes. 

1844 Edward Turner. 
1846 Edward Turner. 
1848 T. J. Stewart. 
1850 T. J. Stewart. 
1852-54 A. K. Farrar. 
1856-57 A. K. Farrar. 
1858 H. T. Ellett. 
1859-60-61-62 H. T. Ellett. 
1865-66-67 P. R. Montgomery. 
1870-71 Orange S. Niles. 
1872-73 H. B. McClure. 
1874-75-76 H. B. McClure. 

1877 M. M. Currie. 

1878 M. M. Currie 
1880 Thomas A. Magee. 
1882 Thomas A. Magee. 
1884 J. T- Whitney. 
1886 T. ]. Whitney. 
1888 G. "a. Guice. 

1890 G A. Guice. 



Joseph Robertson, Joseph Winn. 
Bailey E. Chaney, Thomas Cotton. 
Bailey E. Chaney, Thomas Cotton. 
Joseph Robertson, Jesse Guice. 
T. K. Pickett, C. C. Slocum. 
Thomas Cotton, James C. Hawley. 
Thomas Cotton, J. F. Weatherspoon. 
David D. Gibson. 
David D. Gibson, Lewis Magee. 
R. W. Webber, John Cameron. 
Richard W. Webber. 
Orin Shurtleff. 
Orin ShurtleflF. 
Jefferson E. Porter. 
Thomas Havis. 
James M. Jones. 



Hiram Cassedy. 
Thomas S. Head. 
C. C. Campbell. 
Hiram Cassedy. 
Hiram Cassedy. 
Joseph R. Cotton. 
Joseph R. Cotton. 
De Witt C. Graham. 
K. R. Webb. 
J. F. Sessions. 
J. F. Sessions. 
Cornelius Byrd. 
Cornelius Byrd. 
James S. Magee. 
John G. King. 
M. C. Johnson. 
M. C. Johnson. 
W. L. Godbold. 
W. L. Godbold. 
T. A. Magee. 



ciiArri<R \\\M 



(^KKKNK COUNT V 

NAMKP ill honor of Mj\joi'-Getu>ral Nalhrtiuol (JiotMio, ot 
Ki>volution:irv l.nnu\ was ost.nblislunl OoooinluM- Otl>. ISll. 
Tlus oounty bordiM-s on tho Al.nbanin lino. 

Anu>nijits tirst soltlors woro l,:uighlin >U'(''(\v :ind.li>hn MoKao. 
both ot whom woro tnonihors ot \\\o (""onstitiilional Convention 
in 1S17. Tho MonulVovs. MoC^isUilTs. MoThorsoii's. MoLooiI's. 
Waltor Uonny. Molnnis. Tjaui^hlin MoKay, iho Hrolatul't^Mt^oiiy's, 
Smith's, Kittroll's, Avery's and Browor's. 

Tho lirst shoritT was Aloxanilor MoLoan. allorwards judsj^oot tl\o 
prohato court. Janios Walloy was also shorilV and j>ri>hato judgo. 
Waltor Oonny, now a highly rospootod citif.on ot Moss Point, 
and hu'goly intorostod in tho mill industry at that plaoo. and tho 
tathor of W. M. Oonny, (^moinhor ot tho (^onstitutitMial Conven- 
tion of 1S90. tVom .lackv*«on oonnty."! was at an oarly day sheriff* 
of (Greene ootinty. 

Alexander Fairly, tlio talhor oi a largo taniily. among whom 
were Hon. John T. Fairly, who twice represented Covington 
county in the Legislature; Hon. .\rchie Fairly, who reprosenioii 
1-awrenco (H>unty in the Tu>gislatnre ; and Or. Alexander Fairly, 
who represented the Senatorial Pistrict in which he lives, in the 
State Senate, and is a leading physician in Covington county; 
Pr. Peter Fairly, a physician o( high character and large ex- 
perience, now a resilient ot tho city ot'.lacksiMi and Suporii\tond- 
onl of the Ulind Institute. 

Among the early settlers yet living arc tho tolK>wing: Preston 
Beard. Alexander Avery. Samuel Proland. S. V. McKay. Fan^ua 
McLood. John Molnnis, W. P. Avery, K. B. Box, J. J. Mclnnis. 
Lemuel Bradford, Josiah Byixi, Asa Breland, William Walley, H. 
C. Mills, Joseph Pickinson, K. W. Davis. K. M. Penman. Janu>s 
Freeman, J. M. Sewell. H. C. Cochraii, William Turner, Sr.. B. 
H. Walley. Willis Mills, James Board. P.Hvid Langtord, Paniel 
Brewer. William Cooloy, J. C. Breland. William Mooiiy. Lewis 
Turner, J. S. Turner and William Noal. From tho names there 



HIHTOIJY OK MIMSISMIIMM. 479 

appears to ho a lar^o olonuMit of (lu> Scolch-lri.sli. who uMually 
maUo oxoollo!)!. citi/.ons. 

The towns [\\ tho county ar(^ IioakcHvilU\ (lio counly silo, iiainod 
for lion. Wallrr Ijoako, lornu>r (tovornor of tho Stato an<J 
United StatoH Senator from Missi.sni])pi ; Stato Ijino, in tho 
northeast corner of tho oonnty on tho Mohile and Ohio Kailroa<l. 
The princi])al slroatns in tho county ar(> ( 'hiokasahay and Loaf 
rivers and Hi^ ('reek, all ot whioli have numerous trihutarios. 

(lireone county has 2,975 neros of cleared land ; average value 
as rendered to the asH(>ss»)r, heing ^U.ll j)or acre. Total value 
oft'leared lands, including incorporated towns, #1^1,705. 

The ])o])ulation as shown hy the census returns of IS90 — 
whiles, 2,1)28; colored, 945 ; total, .S, 8(55. 

Sknaioks. RI'I-KKSKN 1A iivks. 

iSio Isiim R. Niiliolson. Iluuli Mcl)i)i>al(l, -^ Daincruii. 

iSji Imioi- R. Nicliolsim. Ilufjli McDnnnld. 

1822 Isiiiii- R. Nicliolson. Julin Mcl.ooti. 

iSaj Luui^'liliii McKay. julin Mtl.ood, 

1825 Laughliii MiKiiy. AiTl>iI>al(l MiMaiius. 

l82()-'27 Joliii Mol,c()(l. Archibald MiMainis. 

I.S2S ■2<> jolui Mil.coil. Archibald MiMaiuis. 

\H\o John Mel, cod. Alex Morrison. 

lS,^i Thomas S. Sterling;. David McRac. 

|S{^ John Mil. cod David McRac. 

lS,55 Thomas I'. I'alcoiicr. Allen McCaskill. 

lS\U '{7 Hanson Alsbury. Joshua Murray. 

'•^.>^ J') Hanst)n Alsbury. Alexander McCasUill. 

1S40 '41 Hanson Alsbury. Ishain Moody. 

1S42 '4^5 '44 A. VV. Ramsey. W. Moore. 

iS4() A. W. Ramsey. John Mclnnis. 

1S48 '50 '5^ Joseph McAfee. John Melnnis. 

1S54 tlraves. 11. J. Mreeland. 

iSy) '57 S. 1? llalhoin. T. |". R(d)erts. 

1S58 S. n. Halhorn. T. "j . Roberts. 

1859 J. \V. Rankin. M. 11. VViiiburn, 

1860 '61 \V. I. Rankin. M. II. Winburn. 
i86i '02 W, J. Rankin. Geor^;c Wood. 
1865 '6(>-'f)7 John K. Smith. |ohn Melnnis. -■ 
1870 '71 J. II. Seal. J. K. Mcl.eoci. 
1872 '7,{ J. II. Seal. S. (1. Gaines. 

'^/•4 '75 .1- ''• Garter. 'riionipson. 

187(1 '77 J. P. Garter. John 1'" McCoimick. 

1878 J. r". Garter. ilenry Roberts. 

1880 J. r. Garler. Jesse Myrd. 

1882 Klliott Henderson. K. Mclnnis. 

1884 Mlliolt Henderson. ). Kittrell. 

1886 I, 1,. Morris. Hilliard Mclnnis. 

l8»8 J. L. Morris. D. VV. Mel, cod. 

1890 A. G. I'crjjuson. 1). W. Mcl.cod, 



ai^KNADA COUNTY 

Was (vsljihli.'^lnMl May 9t,h, 1870, and its history, is mainly omhodiotl 
in the counties of Yalohusha and Carroll from which it wan 



480 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

carvod. The long list of names given in those two counties em- 
brace a great number then and at present residing in what is 
now Grenada county ; and in these are given the histoi'y of the 
rival towns that eventually united and assisted in the building 
up the town of Grenada, now the prosperous county site. 

The first representativo in the State Senate was Wm. Price, and 
in the Lower House, David S. Green. Mr. Price was succeeded b}* 
Col. W. H. FitzGerald, a lawyer of high character, and who was 
colonel of a regiment in the Confederate service. Mr. Green 
was succeeded by Capt. Wm. R. Barksdale, an able lawyer who 
was district attorney of the judicial district in which he resided, 
and a gentlemen of superior scholastic attainments, and held the 
rank of captain in the Confederate service. 

The Illinois Central Railroad traverses the county from north, 
to south, and its branch road runs from Grenada to Memphis. 
Grenada is at the junction of the two i-oads. 

Other towns in the county are Graysport, Elliott and Hardj-. 

The principal streams are Yalobusha and Loosa-Sooona rivers 
and the Abatombougue Creek. 

Grenada county has 55,253 acres of cleared land ; average 
value per acre, $7.69; total value, including incorporated towns, 
eS54,iU)9. 

The population of this county, as shown bj" the census of 1890 : 
Whites, 3,950; colored, 11,024; total, 14,974. 

SkNAIORS. RKTRESKNTAriVES. 

lS72-"73-'74 Wm. Price. David S. Green. 

1S75 Wm. Trice. David S. Green. 

i87(>-*77 W. H. Fit/Gerald. Wm. R. Barksdale. 

1S7S W. H. FitzGerald. Wm. McSwine. 

iSSo W. li. FitzGerald. I. I. Williams. 

kSS2 W. H. Fit/Gerald. Wm. McSwine. 

1SS4 ]\\o. ]. Gage. J. J. Williams. 

iSSti I no. |. Gajje. J. C. l.onijstreet. 

1SS8 ). N.'McLeod. J. C. Longstreet. 

1890 J. N. McLeod. Wm. McSwine. 



HANCOCK COXTNTY, 

Named for .lohn Hancock, one of the signers of the Declaration 
of Indepondonco, was established December 14th, 1812. The 
modest town, of Pearlington, now largely interested in sawing 
and shipping lumber to different parts of the world, was intended 
in Territorial days to be a place of considerable commercial uu- 
portance, and with this view, its founders dedicated a large area 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 481 

of land for the purpose of building up a city, and it was for a 
time a lively and prosperous place. 

Among the first settlers of Pearlington and Hancock county, 
were Francois B. Lenoir, who represented the county prior to 
1820 in the Legislature, Noel Jourdan, Eliaha Carver, J. C. 
Monet, Leonard Kimball, General Nixon, Col. Strong, Judge 
Benj. Sones, Colonel Stewai't, Peter Joor, Pierre Saucier, 
John B. Toulme, Judge J. W. Wingate, Gabriel Bradford,. 
Sidney Lenoir, William and Joseph Wheat, Thomas Poite- 
vant, Dr. Eagar, H. and R. Carre, J. W. Roberts, David Moye, 
Col. D. S. Dewees, Pelton Conley, Francoise Netto, A. H. Her- 
sey, Wm. Friarson, Jordan Smith, Dr. C. A. Calhoun, Chas. 
Litch|ield, Cai)t. A. P. Boardman, Christian Koch, John Orr, 
Capt. Raymond Creveas, Dimitry Canna, A. Dimitry, Col. W- 
R. Hoyt, P. R. R. Pray, who represented the county in the Legis- 
lature, and was President of the Constitutional Convention of 
1832, Louis Sportono, Alex. Bookter, Jas. A. Ulman, Onerzein 
Favre, Chas. H. Frazar, Luther Russ, Jesse Depew, Thomas 
Holmes, and John Dunbar. Among the foregoing names are 
many who were distinguished in the early days of the Territo- 
rial and State governments. Prior to the era of railroads mem- 
bers of the bar from different sections of the State made their 
way on horse-back to the courts of the coast counties, not only 
to attend to whatever legal business they might secure, but for 
the pleasure of enjoying for a few days the health-giving breezes 
of the Gulf. 

The towns in the county are Bay St. Louis, the county site, a 
prosperous and pleasant little city of some two thousand inhab- 
itants, Pearlington and Gainesville. 

The principal streams are Pearl River, on the western border, 
which affords excellent transportation for lumber sawed in the 
county, Jordan and Wolf rivers, and a number of smaller streams. 

The railroads in the county are the Louisville and Nashville, 
and the New Orleans and Northeastern, which afford easj' and 
comfortable transportation. 

Hancock county has 3,832 acres of cleared land, average value 
per acre, $2.93. Total value, including incorporated towns, 
$746,723. 

The population of this county as shown by the census repoi't 
of 1890: Whites, 5,758 ; colored, 2.526; total, 8,284. 

31 



482 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 



Senators. 
l820-'2i-'22 Isaac R. Nicholson. 
1823 Laughlin McKay. 

1825 Laughlin McKay. 

1826 John McLeod. 
i827-'28-'29 John McLeod. 

1830 John McLeod. 

1 83 1 Thomas S. Sterling. 
1833 John McLeod. 
1835 Thos. P. Falconer. 
i836-'37 Hanson Algbury. 
i838-'39 Hanson Alsbury. 
i840-'4i Hanson Alsbury. 
i842-'43 A. W. Ramsey. 
1844 A. W. Ramsey. 
1846 A W. Ramsey. 
1848 A. W. Ramsey. 
1850 A. W. Ramsey. 
1852 A. W. Ramsey. 
1854 A. W. Ramsey. 
1856 T. J. McCaughan. 
)S57-'58 T. J. McCaughan. 
i859-'6o-'6i J. B McRae. 
i86i-'62 J. B. McRae. 
i865-'66-'67 R. Seal. 
i870-'7l Jacob J. Seal. 

1872 Jacob J. Seal. 

1873 Jacob J. Seal. 

1874 J, P. Carter. 

1875 J. P. Carter. 
i876-'77 J. P. Carter. 
1878 J. P. Carter. 
1880 J. P. Carter. 
i882-'84 Elliott Henderson. 
1886 Roderick Seal. 

1888 Roderick Seal. 
1890 H. Bloomfield. 



Representatives. 
Noel Jourdan. 
Jesse Depew. 
Samuel White. 
Thomas Holmes. 
P. R. R. Pray. 
Wm. Haile. 

— Carver. 

John Dunbar, B. B. Brewer. 

Jno. Dunbar, B. B. Brewer. 

Julius Monet, 

John Bond. 

Moses Cooke. 

Moses Cooke. 

J. B. Toulme. 

B. S; Leonard. 

Jno. B. Toulme. 

Leonard Kimball. 

S. B. Pearce. 

Julius C. Monet. 

Jno. Graves. 

Jno. L. Hart. 

W. H. Claiborne. 

Daniel B. Seal. 

Daniel B Seal, r- 

Jno. H. Nicholson. 

— Leonard. 
Redding Byrd. 
Redding Byrd. 
H. Sanders. 
H. Saunders. 
Daniel B. Seal. 
Silas J. Leslie. 
T. M. Favre. 
Geo. Arbo. 
Thos. R. Stocker. 
Daniel B. Seal. 



HAERISON COUNTY, 

Named in honor of General Wm. Henry Harrison, then Presi- 
dent elect of the United States, was established February 5th, 1841, 
twenty-nine years after Hancock, and carved mainly from that 
county. Many of its early settlers were among the pioneers 
of Hancock, residing in the territory now comprised in Harrison 
county. 

The first Eepresentatives in the Legislature were Joseph Frost, 
B. Bond and John J. McCaughn. Hon. Koderick Seal, a widely 
known and intelligent lawyer, one of the landmarks of the sea- 
coast country, represented the county in the lower House of the 
Legislature forty-one years ago, since which he has repeatedly 
served the county in both branches of the Legislature. 

The principal towns in the county are, Mississippi City, the 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 483 

county site, Pass Christian, Biloxi and Handsboro. These towns 
are dotted along the coast with ample hotel accommodations 
which are frequented^ both summer and winter, by visitors from 
almost every part of the country. Many of the drives along the 
beach are very picturesque and beautiful. Henderson's Point, 
near Pass Christian, the property of Hon. Elliot Henderson, a 
former State Senator from the coast, is noted for its beauty. 
The principal streams are the Biloxi, Wolf and Jourdan rivers, 
with their tributaries. The seekers of health cannot find a more 
pleasant resort than our own sea-shore, where they are within easj' 
distance, with ample facilities for travel, of the two Southern 
cities, New Orleans and Mobile. The railroads are the Louis- 
ville and Nashville, and that portion of the Grulf and Ship Island 
Railroad leading in the direction of Hattiesburg in Perry county. 

Harrison has 3,096 acres of cleared land ; average value per 
acre, $2.82; total value, including incorporated towns, $1,545,131. 

The population of this county as shown by the census report 

of 1890— whites, 9,108 ; colored, 3,370 ; total, 12,478. 

Senators. Representatives. 

1844 A. W. Ramsey. Joseph Frost, B. Bond. 

1846 A. W. Ramsey. John J. McCaughan. 

1848 A. W. Ramsey. B. Bond. 

l85o-'52 A. W. Ramsey. Roderick Seal. 

1854 A. W. Ramsey. John L. Henley. 
i856-'57-'58 T. J. McCaughan. R. C. Saffold. 

i859-'6a-'6i J. B. McRae. John L. Henley. 

1861-62 J. B. McRae. Roderick Seal. 

i865-'66-'67 Roderick Seal. John L. Henley.- 

1870 Jacob J. Seal. Hamilton Taylor. 

1871 Jacob J. Seal. R. F. Harrison. 

1872 Jacob J. Seal. Roderick Seal. 

1873 Jacob J. Seal. Roderick Seal. 
i874-'75 J. P. Carter. W. A. Champlin. 
1876 J. P. Car.er. John M. Mclnnis. 
2877 J. P. Carter. E. F. Griffin. 
1878 J. P. Carter. A. J. Ramsey. 
1800 J. P. Carter. Roderick Seal. 
1882 Elliot Henderson. F. W. Elmer. 
1884 Elliot Henderson. D. D. Cowan. 
1886 Roderick Seal. F. W. Elmer. 
1888 Roderick Seal. Calvit Roberts. 
1890 H. Bloomfield. W. G. Evans, Jr. 



HINDS COUNTY 

Was established February 12th, 1821, and named in honor of 
General Thomas Hinds; carved out of that tract of country ceded to 
the United States by the Choctaw tribe of Indians, on the 18th 



484 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

day of October, 1820. On February 4th, 1828, the Legislature 
provided for the election of five commissioners to select a site tor 
the court-house and jail of the county, and to locate the same 
either at Clinton, or within two miles of the center of the county. 
On the 17th of January, 1829, an act was passed directing that 
the courts should be held at Raymond, and that all books, records 
and papers belonging to the respective offices should be re- 
moved to that place. 

Among the first settlers of the county were Benj. F. Smith, 
Wm. W. Walker, Chas. M. Lawson, all of whom represented the 
county in the Legislature; W. J. Austin, Silas Brown, Hiram G. 
Kunnels, who were also members of the Legislature ; Judge Isaac 
Caldwell, member of the State Senate, killed in a duel by Samuel 
Gwin, who received a wound from which he afterwards died ; 
Ralph Stovall, whose widow lived to be one hundred and one 
years of age ; she was the mother of twenty-two children ; the 
present deputy sheriff L. F. Chiles, is the grand-son of Mrs. 
Stovall's seventeenth daughter ; W. H. Bradley, J. B. Robei'tsou, 
settled near where Brownsville is now located ; J. J. Birdsong, 
W. Moffatt, Washington and Wesley Farr, near where Bolton 
now stands ; Daniel Thomas, for several terms sheriff of the 
county, was an early settler on Baker's Creek ; he was the father 
of Samuel B.Thomas, who was Colonel of the Twelfth Regiment 
during the war, and like his honored father served the county 
most acceptably as sheriff for a decade or more ; Rev. Lewis B- 
Holloway, a Baptist minister, with his two step-sons John R. and 
Jas. M. Chiles, were among the early settlers of Jackson ; Leroy H. 
Tatum, Jas. Satterfield, Hugh McGrOwan and Rev. Jesse Woodall, 
a Baptist minister, settled in what was afterwards known as the 
Byram neighborhood j John Rimes was the head of what was 
known as the Rimes colony. Hon. Henry G. Johnston repre- 
sented the county in the Legislature and was probate judge. He 
married the daughter of Grov. Walter Leake, and was the father 
of W. L. Johnston, now residing in or near Clinton. The late 
Hon. Amos R. Johnston, a lawyer of ability and an advocate of 
great power, represented the county in the Legislature fifty-five 
years ago. When a j^oung man he was probate judge, was one 
of the authors of the Revised Code of 1871, and represented the 
counties of Hinds and Rankin in the State Senate ; he was the 
father of Capt. Frank and Dr. Wirt Johnston, each prominent 
in their respective professions; the former a learned and accu- 
rate lawyer and cultured gentleman; the latter one of the leading 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 485 

physicians of the Stale, and since its organization a member of 
the State Board of Health. Henry S. Foote, referred to else- 
where in this volume, was the father of H. S. Foote, former dis- 
trict attorney in the Jackson district, an excellent lawyer and 
genial gentleman, now on the bench in California. Governor 
Foote was the father-in-law of Hon. Wm. M. Stewart, United 
States Senator from Nevada, and noted for his independence of 
thought and conservatism ; Dr. New, Samuel Gwin, James 
McEaven, Eev. Daniel Comfort, widel}' known as a distinguished 
educator; Hon. John I. Guion, who was Circuit Judge, State 
Senator, and as President of the Senate, succeeded to theGovern- 
ship ; Alex. K. McClung, referred to in preceding pages ; Judge 
Daniel Mayes, who was Circuit Judge in his native State, Ken- 
tucky, and Professor of Law in Transylvania College, was a 
profound and learned lawyer; he was the father of Hon. Herman 
Mayes, elsewhere referred to, also of Hon. Edward Mayes, of 
Oxford,, before referred to in this volume. Judge Mayes was the 
father-in-law of Hon. Wiley P. Harris, to whom reference has 
been previously made; he was also the father-in-law of the late 
Hon. Geo. L. Potter, a lawyer of recognized ability, research 
and learning, of modest habits and great purity of character ; his 
sons George, Daniel and Wiley H. Potter are still residents of 
the county, and the latter its efficient Circuit Clerk ; Hon. Cas- 
well E. Clifton who was Judge of the Circuit Court and Clerk 
of the High Court of Errors and Appeals, was the father of 
Hon. Oliver Clifton, a lawyer by profession, who has represented 
the county in the Legislature, and is now and has been for many 
years Clerk of the Supreme Court of the State ; Austin Morgan, 
whose widow, son and daughter reside in the city of Jackson ; 
David Shelton, who came from Tennessee in 1836, and from the 
date of his location has kept constantly in the line of his profes- 
sion, occupying high rank as a lawyer, and for a half century has 
had an extensive practice, and is among the most substantial and 
honored citizens of the capital city ; Edward S. Parish, came to 
Jackson in 1833^ and was awarded the contract for the carpen- 
ter's work on the State House ; he was the father of four sons, one 
of whom, Ned. Parish, a superior mechanic, an honorable and 
upright man, is now a resident of Jackson ; James Eedfearn, a 
farmer and successful stock-raiser, settled in Hinds in 1883, but 
has long been a highly esteemed citizen of Eankin ; Wm. J. 
Brown, now in his seventy-sixth year, came to Jackson as a prin- 
ter in 1836 ; he is now a successful merchant, having the confi- 



486 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

dence of the community in which he has so long resided ; Herbert 
Spengler came to Jackson fifty-four years ago; he has accumulated 
a valuable estate, and is the head of a large family; his sons are 
established in business, and are thriftj'^ and prosperous young men. 
"Spengler's Corner" is one of the "landmarks" of the city, 
and known to visitors throughout the State that are in the habit 
of frequenting the capital. Major Craft, father of the late Dr. 
M. S. Craft, a gentleman of high character, splendid address, a 
distinguished physician, a surgeon of wide reputation and greatly 
esteemed by his large circle of friends and patrons ; Jas. Tolbert, 
Kichard and Chas. Webber, C. C. Mason, a lawyer, Hon. Thos. 
J. Wharton, a native of Tennessee, who came to Clinton in 1836; 
soon after completing his collegiate course, he practiced his pro- 
fession for a number of years with marked success, when he was 
elected Attorney-General of the State, the duties of which he 
performed with great acceptability for two terms ; he was subse- 
quently circuit judge of the capital district for six years, a law- 
yer of distinction, scholarly attainments and universally esteemed. 
Hon. James Rucks was circuit judge in his native State^ Ten- 
nessee, and after locating in Jackson, practiced his profession for 
a number of years„ Judge Rucks was the father of a numerous 
family ; his son James, was an intelligent and excellent lawyer. 
Judge Rucks was the father-in-law of the late Hon. Wm. Yerger, 
who was among Mississippi's ablest men, a great lawyer, and thfr 
readiest man of his day ; although a Whig in politics, he was 
elected in a Democratic District, Judge of the High Court of 
Errors and Appeals; he was a State Senator in 1863, and a dele- 
gate to the Convention of 1865 ; as a learned lawyer and able ad- 
vocate, he had few equals, he reared a large family ; his son, Capt. 
Jas. R. Yerger, is a well known and intelligent lawyer residing 
at the capital. A. C. Baine, editor of the Flag of the Union, a 
newspaper published in Jackson years ago ; Jarnes H. Kerr, 
father of Captain R. C. Kerr, now Register of the United States 
Land Office at Jackson, a position which he held under a former 
administration. Charles H. Manship, an expert painter, has 
always manifested much interest in the benevolent institutions 
located at the capital and for years he has been a trustee of some 
one 'of them; he has reared a large family and is now seventy- 
eight years of age, but manifests a warm interest in every enter- 
prise that promises prosperity to the city. D. N. Barrows, who 
served the cit}'^ as chief magistrate, and widely known as an 
accurate, fair minded and successful business man. Alexander 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 487 

Virden, a native of Delaware, now seventy-six years of age, was 
one of the early merchants of Jacksonj has seen the place grow 
from an insignificant village to its present proportions ; he has 
passed unscathed through the financial ordeals occurring during 
the last half century, maintaining his high business integrity, and 
now, at his advanced age, can well afford to confide the manage- 
ment of his large mercantile interests to his three capable sons 
whom he has trained to business habits and methods, and who 
have already high commercial standing. The late Edmund Eich- 
ardson, whose business career was most successful, worked for a 
monthly salary first at Clinton and afterwards at Brandon, where 
he resided many years. At the time of his death, which occurred- 
Buddenly at Jackson, his home was in New Orleans. He had 
accumulated several millions of dollars. The late George C. 
Fearn, was also a merchant in an early day, as was T. M. Ellis 
and John C. McAlister. The late John W. Eobinson was for a 
number of years associated with Edmund Kichardson. He had 
energy, tact, business capacity and superior judgment, and ac- 
cumulated a handsome/ortune ; his two sons are engaged in mer- 
chandising. His son-in-law, who was with him in business for 
many years, Robert L. Saunders, is a man of affairs, bright, in. 
telligent and enterprising, and one of Jackson's leading and pro- 
gressive citizens. Capt. Jno. P. Stevens was also associated with 
Mr. Robinson, and is now one of Jackson's solid and substantial 
citizens. Steven P. Bailey, at one time maj^or of Jackson, father 
of Henry Bailey and the late Doctor P. T. Bailey. Doctor 
Bailey did an extensive practice for manj'^ years, was gifted in 
his profession]; with a warm and tender heart, he administered to 
his long list of patients, almost to the very day of his death. 
The late Joshua and Thomas Green, natives of Maryland, who 
were widely known in business circles as men of enterprise. 
Prior to the war they established a cotton factory which was 
burned by the Federal troops during hostilities, thus reducing to 
ashes the accumulation of years of labor and toil. Each of the 
Messrs. Green reared large families, all of whom are highly re- 
spected • John Shelton, Esq., of Raymond, a lawyer of ability, high 
character; Matt D. Patton, father of the late John W. Patton ; 
the late Hymau, Phillip, Marcus and Samuel Hilzheim. They 
were merchants and business men and have descendants in this 
and Washington count}-^, all of whom are highly respected. 
Hon. George W. Harper, of Raymond, who has represented the 
county in the Legislature and a successful journalist of large ex- 



488 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPI^I. 

perience. Wm. C. Richards, cashier of the Planters' Bank, John 
and Thomas Graves, James E. White, the owner of Whites' Mills, 
once on Pearl river, Harry Lo-ng, W. W. and D. C. Young, mer- 
chants, Hon. George Adams, appointed by President Jackson, Dis- 
trict Judge of the United States Court for Mississippi, the duties of 
which he ably discharged- for many years. He was the father of 
Generals Wirt and Daniel W. Adams. The former an educated, cul- 
tured, courtly gentleman, high bearing, full of courage and 
splendid address, was a Brigadier-General in the Confederate 
service and postmaster of the city of Jackson, under Cleveland's 
administration, at the time of his death. His only son, who 
bears the name of his honored father, has been for six years 
State Revenue Agent. Daniel W. Adams was a lawyer of de- 
cided ability, represented the county in the State Senate and was 
a Brigadier- General in the Confederate army, resided in New 
Orleans at the time of his death. Hon. Collin S. Tarpley, an 
able and widely known lawyer, who did an extensive and lucra- 
tive practice. Members of his family, honored and respected, 
still reside near their old home. R. L. Dixon, a lawj^er of 
high standing. The late Doctor Wm. M. Gwin, afterwards 
a United States Senator from California ; William Clark, 
a minister of the Christian church, and at one time State Treas- 
urer, he was the father of the late Robert A. and Col. Wm. H. 
Clarke, both lawyers of good standing, the former has descend- 
ants still residing in Jackson ; the latter, who was a Colonel in 
the Confederate army and fell at the head of his regiment at the 
battle of Altoona, has an only son who bears his father's name, 
a young and bi'ight lawyer at Dallas, Texas. Doctor Silas 
Brown, an early and prominent physician of Jackson ; Doctor 
W. S. Langley, referred to elsewhere in this volume; the late 
Samuel Lemly, a prompt, reliable and successful merchant, who 
has several sons, leading merchants in their respective lines, of 
Jackson; Jacob Kausler, an honored citizen, who has reared a 
large family ; H. E. Sizer, a large dealer in carriages, buggies, 
etc., whose two daughters still reside in the city of Jackson. 
Later came Messrs. E. and S. Virden, natives of the State of 
Delaware, who engaged in merchandising and have been emi- 
nently successful and are classed among the most substantial and 
prosperous merchants in the State. 

Hinds county has 362,227 acres of cleared land; average value 
per acre $5.43; total value including incorporated towns, $3,748,- 
987. 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 



489 



The population of this county, as shown by the census report 
of 1890: Whites, 10,685; colored, 28,577; total 39,262. 

Hinds county has the honor of having the Capital within her 
borders, the location and description of which will be referred 
to elsewhere. 

The principal towns of the county are Jackson, Clinton, Ray- 
mond, the couuty site, Edwards, Bolton, Utica, Terry, Learned, 
Adams, Oakley, Byram and Tougaloo. 

The principal streams in the county are Pearl river, which 
forms its eastern boundary ; Baker's Creek and Big Black on 
the western border ; Tallahala, Bogue Chitto, Rhodes and Big 
Creeks. 

The railroads in the county are the Illinois Central, traversing 
the county from north to South ; the Alabama & Vicksburg, run- 
ning east and west, crosses the Illinois Central at Jackson; the 
Natchez, Jackson & Columbus Railroad, running from Natchez 
to Jackson, and the Yazoo branch of the Illinois Central, run- 
ning from Jackson to Greenwood, altogether making Jackson a 
great railroad center. 

Representatives. 



Senators. 
l822-'23 Samuel Calvit. 

1825 Harden D. Ruunels. 

1826 Harden D. Runnels. 

1827 Harden D. Runnels. 

1828 Henry W. Vick. 

1829 Henry W. Vick. 

1830 Henry W. Vick. 

1831 Isaac Caldwell. 

1833 Dr. Jacob B. Morgan 

1S35 Silas Brown. 

1836 

1537 Thos. B.J. Hadley. 

1538 Tho-. B. J. Hadley. 

1839 Thos. B. J Hadley. 

1840 Upton Miller. 

1841 Upton Miller. 

i842-'43 Upton Miller. 
1844 James Dupree. 

1846 James Dupree. 

1S48 John I. Guion. 
1852 Daniel W. Adams. 

1854 Daniel W. Adams. 
1856 Dr. T. J. Catchings. 



Benjamin F. Smith. 

Chas. M Lawson. 

\Vm. W. Walker. 

W. J. Austin. 

Silas Brown. 

John B. Peyton. 

Hiram G. Runnels. 

Jeremiah Conant, Jas, Scott. 

Alex Morrison, W. C. Demoss. 

W. C. Demoss, Thos. H. Williams. 

Amos R. Johnston, I. R. Nicholson, H. W, 
Dunlap, Thos. H. Williams. 

Amos R. Johnston, H. W. Dunlap, James 
Phillips, A. G Moore. 

Samuel Neil, H. C.Stewart, Hugh McGow- 
an, D. O. Williams. 

Samuel Neil, Hugh McCowan, H. C. Stew- 
art, H. S. Foote. 

Jas. J. Allen, John Jenkins, T. A. Wood- 
ward, J. B. Robinson. 

Jas. J. Allen, John Jenkins, H. G. Runnels, 
D. H. Dickson. 

J. C Mitchell, Crawford. 

W, C. Richards, Luke Lea. G. R. Fall, 
Chas. Spann. 

S. A. D. Greaves, C. S. Spann, H. Pope, A. 
R. Green. 

T. J. Catchings, R. White, G. Baker. 

Geo. W. Harper, I. N. Selser, T. J. Catch- 
ings. 

Warren P. Anderson, Geo. W. Harper. 

VV. L. Sharkey, M. W. Moffatt, R. White. 



490 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 



1857 Dr. T. J. Catchings. 

1858 Dr. T. J. Catchings. 

1859 L. Mims. 
i86o-'6i L. Mims. 
i86i-'62 L. Mims. 
i863-'64 Wm. Yerger. 
i865-'66-'67 J. M. Hawkins. 
i870-'7i Joseph Bennett, Charles 

Caldwell. 

i872-'73 Joseph Bennett, Charles 
Caldwell. 

l874-'75 Joseph Bennett, Charles 
Caldwell. 

1876-77 Amos R. Johnston. J. 
L. McCaskill. 

1878 W. A, Montgomery, J. L. 
McCaskill. 

1880 Wm. Ratliff, Jas. D. Stew- 
art. 

1882 Wm. Ratliff, Jas. D. Stew- 
art. 

1884 J. S. Hamilton. 

1886 J. S. Hamilton. 
1888 C. M. Williamson. 
1890 C. M. Williamson. 



Warren P. Anderson, W. L. Sharkey, M* 

W, Moffatt. 
W. P. Anderson, M. W. Moffatt, J. M. 

Hawkins. 
C. E. Hooker, J. J. Smiley, R. H. Purdom, 
C. E. Hooker, J. J. Smiley, R. H. Purdom. 
Geo. Boddie, Robt. Miller, C. E. Hooker. 

Geo. W. Boddie, L. Hudson, J. M. Dolson. 

C. W. Loomis, W. S. Cabell, H. Mayson, C, 

F. Norris. 
H. T. Fisher, Monroe Bell, C. Reese, Wm. 

Johnson. 
G. G. Mosely, J. A. Shorter, E. Wilbourne, 

E. A, Peyton. 
Oliver Clifton, M. Dabney, Geo. W. Harper, 

M. R. Jones. 

D. M. Ballard, M. Dabney, C. A. Lusk, 

Weldon Hicks 

Thos. A. McWillie, L K. Atwood, J. F. 
Burnett, J. B. HoUingsworth. 

Thos. Atkinson, J. B. Greaves, Jr , J. A. 
Shorter, Jr., G. C. Cranberry. 

J. K. McNeely, M. M. McLeod, Wm. Rob- 
inson, L. K, Atwood. 

C. M. Williamson, J. W. Johnson, B. H. 
Wells, J. N. Bush. 

J. B. Greaves, A. Puryear, C. E Hooker, 
Jr , Thomas N. Griffin. 

H. Peyton, J. F. Fitzgerald, J. A. P. Camp- 
bell, Jr., Thomas M. Griffin. 



HOLMES COUNTY 

Was established February 19th, 1833. The revised code oi 1880 
fixed the date at 1823, evidently a typographical error. 

The county was named in memory of Hon. David Holmes, a 
Senator in Congress and Governor of both the Territory and 
State. Holmes was carved out of Yazoo county, and its creation 
met with strong opposition. The bill was vetoed by the Gov- 
ernor, but subsequently passed the two Houses by the constitu- 
tional majority of two-thirds of the members. 

The act establishing the county vested the board of police with 
power to designate the place where the seat of justice should be 
located, but directed that it should be within three miles of the 
geographical centre of the county. Power was also conferred 
upon the board to contract for the building of a courthouse and 
jail. 

Among the early settlers of the county were James Scott, Sr., 
at whose house the courts were directed to be held, until some 
other place was designated ; Peter Parker, Thomas Land, who was 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 491 

the first Senator from the county ; J. R. McLean, father of the 
of the Messrs McLean of the Edwards House in the city ot Jack- 
son ; Dr. Garrett Keirn, who represented the county twice in the 
State Senate, whose wife was the daughter of Governor Leake ; 
he was the father of Dr. Walter Leake Keirn, a gentleman 
of superior attainments^ an extensive planter and member of 
the Constitutional Convention from the county in 1890 ; Thos. 
Walton, the Stiglers, Jesse Walton, James N. Gwin, the father 
of S. D. Gwin, J. E. and C. V. Gwin; the two latter, lawyers of 
ability and high character, practicing their profession at Lexing- 
ton ; both of these gentlemen represented the county in the Legis- 
lature; Wiley Davis, John B. Davis, Cornelius Van Houston, the 
Lands; Thomas T. Land represented the county in the Legisla- 
ture and migrated to Louisiana and became one of the judges of 
the Supreme Court of that State, Judge Land was the father-in- 
law of Hon. George A. Wilson, who represented the county in 
the State Senate, and was a popular candidate for Congress in 
the district in which he lives, in 1889. Wm. H. Johnson, Wm. 
W. George, who was the first Representative from the county; 
Wm. F. Stansbury, Robert, Hugh and Lewis Davis, J. W. Dula- 
ney, A. H. Paxton, both of whom were members of the Legisla- 
ture; Walker Brooke^ who was a distinguished lawyer, was a 
member of both branches of the Legislature and was elected 
United States Senator to fill the unexpired term occasioned by 
the resignation of Hon. H. S. Foote ; Richard Carter, father of 
Dr. S. S. Carter, who after graduating at the State University 
and in medicine in New Orleans entered the Confederate army. 
The war over he abandoned his profession, engaged in merchan- 
dizing, developing decided financial ability. In the meantime 
ha represented the county twice in the Legislature. Several 
years ago he removed to the city of Jackson and is now presi- 
dent of the First National Bank. Hon A. M. West, who served 
the county in both branches of the Legislature and who repre- 
sented Marshall county in the State Senate, and has been promi- 
nent in politics for many years; was the nominee for Vice-Presi- 
dent of the United States on the Greenback ticket in 1884; Alva 
Wilson, who was a member of the Legislature from the county; 

Hamilton, the father of Hon. Joel G. Hamilton, who 

served the county in both branches of the Legislature; Morgan 
McAfee, who was a member of the State Senate ; Otho W. Bell, 
who was one of the early sheriffs of Holmes; the Hookers, two 
of whom, the late J. J. Hooker and Henry S. Hooker, both law- 



492 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

yers of ability, represented the county in the State Senate ; John 
West, the Lansdales, one of whom represented the county in the 
State Senate ; D. C. Sharp, who was also a State Senator Irom 
the county; R. W. Sanders, James W. Wade, A. J. Pattison and 
David Beaty, all of whom represented the county in the lower 
branch of the Legislature. 

In the early days of Holmes county Mr. Nevels captured the 
celebrated robber, Phelps, who was carried to Warren county 
and tried for offences committed in that county. About the same 
time several persons charsjed with the crimes of counterfeiting 
and the stealing of horses, supposed to belong to the "Murrell 
clan/' were captured at Tchula and severely whipped and made 
to leave the county. 

The towns of the county are Lexington, the county site, that 
has always commanded a fair trade, with an intelligent and re- 
fined population ; Pickens, Tchula, Goodman, Durant, West, Ebe- 
nezer, Richland, Franklin, Bowling Green, Emory, Acona, Bee 
Lake, Thornton, Milesville, Howard and Grays Mill. Castilian 
Springs, now a noted watering resort, under the management and 
control of Col. D. A. Outlaw, is situated three miles from Durant. 

It is believed that the Castilian water possesses medicinal 
properties that entitles it to rank with any other sought by those 
out of health. The hotel accommodations are being annually 
enlarged. 

The principal streams are, Yazoo river, on the western 
boundary. Big -Black on the eastern boundary of the county, 
Tchula Lake ; Honey Island is between the Yazoo and Tchula 
Lake. The Yazoo is sixty miles from the head to the foot of the 
island, and the lake eighty miles in length. The island, however, 
on an air line is not over fifteen miles long, and five or six miles 
in width ; Abiacha, Chicopa, Funagusha, Black Cypress, Wil- 
liams and Box creeks, Tipton and Millstone bayous, Bee, Horse- 
shoe, Clear and Pinchback lakes. 

The Illinois Central Railroad traverses the county from north 
to south on the eastern side, and the Yazoo branch of the same 
road on the western side of the county, and another branch of 
the same system runs from Durant via Lexington to Tchula. 

There are 172,070 acres of cleared land in the county, aveiaging 
per acre in value, as returned by the assessor, $9.60. The total 
value of cleared land in the county, including incorporated towns 
is $2,109,796. 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 



493 



The population of Holmes as shown by the census report of 
1890 : White, 6,980 ; colored, 23,988 ; total, 30,968. 



Senators. 

1835 Thomas Land. 

1836 

1837 Garrett Keirn. 

i838-'39 Garrett Keirn. 

1840 Garrett Keirn. 

i84i-'42-'43 Garrett Keirn. 

1844 Garrett Keirn. 

1846 Landsdale 

1848 D. C. Sharpe. 
1850 Walker Brooke. 
1852 Morgan McAfee. 
1854 A. M. West. 
i856-'57 A. M West. 
1858 A. M. West. 
i859-'6a-'6i A. M. West. 
i86i-'62 W. Q. Poindexter. 
i865-'66-'67 J.J. Hooker. 
i870-'7i Albert G. Packer. 
i872-'73 Albert G. Packer. 
i874-'75 A. G. Packer. 

l876-'77 Henry S. Hooker. 
1878 Henry S. Hooker. 
1880 J. G. Hamilton. 

1882 J. G. Hamilton.- 
1884 J. G. Hamilton. 
1886 J. G. Hamilton. 
1888 Geo. A. Wilson. 
1890 Geo. A. Wilson. 



Representatives. 

Wm. W. George. 
T. W. Dulaney, A. H Paxton. 
A. H. Paxton, Alva Wilson. 
Alva Wilson, B. W. Saunders. 
Thos. T. Land, Jno. M. Moore. 
Thos. T. Land 

A. J. Pattison, Jas. W. Wade. 
J. W. Wade, David Beaty. 
W. Brooke, A. M. West. 
W. Jenkins, J. M. Clement. 
M. L. McGuire, H. C. Adams. 
Botters. 

D. J. Red, W. Jenkins. 
David Mitchell. 

W. D Sanders, W. B. Jenkins. 

J. J. Hooker, Jas. M. Dyer. 

Joel G. Hamilton, F. M. Phillips. 

C. Mitchell, W. B. Williams, E. Scarbrough. 

H. H. Truehart, F. Stewart, Perry Howard. 

H. H. Truehart, T. Weatherly, Perry How- 
ard. 

Samuel S. Carter, J. H. Dyer, J. H. Gowen. 

Samuel S. Carter, C. V. Gwin, J- G. Marshall. 

Henry Christmas, C. T. Murphy, T. Weath- 
erly, 

E. F. Noel, J. F, Downer, J. P. Tackett. 
Henry Christmas, L. Warfield, W. L. Dyer. 
J. E. Gwin, Edgar West, W. D. Gibbs. 

J. S. Hoskins, W. P. Tackett, P. Simmons. 
H. J. Reid, J. L. Cotton. W. J. Watlington, 



ITAWAMBA COUNTY 

The county of Itawamba, in the northeastern portion of the 
State, was established in 1836. The name is of Indian origin, 
and was given in honor of an Indian Chief, Ita-Wam-Ba, whose 
real name was Levi Colbert, a Frenchman by descent, who was 
chief counsellor of the Chickasaw Nation. It was said to be 
the custom of the Choctaws and Chickasaws, when one of their 
number performed a meritorious act for the good of the nation, 
to call a council to which all the circumstances of the act were 
stated, and if approved, a circle was formed by chiefs and war- 
riors, a wreath placed on the head of the one performing the 
service and a new name given him. When Levi Colbert was a 
young man, some Indians of another tribe (probably the Creeks), 
organized a plan to take the country occupied by the Chicka- 
saws from them. It was during the hunting season in the fall 



494 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

of the year when the Chickasaw warriors were absent that the 
hostile band set out on their mission. Young Colbert received 
news of their intention, and learning that they were on the ad- 
vance he immediately gathered together as many of the young 
men as he could of those who were at home, and securing 
such arms as were obtainable, went forward to meet their ene- 
mies, who were surprised and routed, and had more killed and 
wounded than the little band of Colbert numbered. After the 
return of ihe Chickasaws from their hunt a council of the nation 
was called, and for his brave and successful act Levi Colbert 
was given a new name. Instead of sitting flat upon the groUnd, 
as had been the custom, he w&s furnished a bench or siool on 
which to sit during the ceremony, and being crowned with a 
wreath, he was declared '^ It-a- Warn- Ba- Mingo," or "Bench 
Chief." This was some years prior to 1827, but the exact date 
not known. 

After the treaty with the United States in 1832, Colbert, who 
was much dissatisfied with the treaty, started in companj^ with 
others of his tribe for Washington, to prevent a ratification by 
the Senate. He, however, went no further than the residence of 
his son-in-law, Kilpatrick Carter, at Buzzard Eoost, west of 
Tuscumbia, whore he was taken sick and died of the flux, in the 
winter of 1832. This statement is made by Stephen Doggett, a 
subscribing witness to the treaty between the Chickasaws and 
the United States in that year. 

Among the early settlers in Itawamba county was Hugh Rog- 
ers, who settled in 1834 about twenty miles north of where Ful- 
ton was afterwards located. In 1835 came John and Reuben 
"Warren, John Dulaney, Elijah Franks, John W. Clifton, B. Gr. 
Moore, Isaac Edwards and Harvey Jamison. In 1836 M. C. 
Cummings, Joshua Toomer, Wm. Toomer, Joshua Barnard and 
Jesse Mc Williams settled at or near Fulton, In 1837 there was 
quite an influx of settlers in the town and county. Among them 
were Alonzo Elkin, Jno. R. Wren, Reuben and Alfred Strygh, 
Joseph Gr. Connille, E. Gr, Thomas, Russell O, Beene, Alfred Senter, 
and soon afterwards Jeptha Robins, D. N. Cayce, Wm. McFad- 
den, John Elliott, Uriah Nausly, Sr., W, D, Clifton and Malcolm 
Graham. About the same time Samuel Bell, Stephen Smith, 
Jonathan Woodward and Wm. Bedford. In 1838 and 1839, Ste- 
phen Owen, John Gilstrap, Manly and David Files, Judge Jas. A. 
Bonsland, Jas. Keyes, Jas. Whitesides, Robert Shannon, Del- 
mirth Stone, Elijah Spearman, John Spearman, Josiah Lindsey, 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 



495 



Stephen and John E. Gilmore. These families were located in 
different portions of the county. 

Fulton, the county site, which has about four hundred inhabi- 
tants, is the only town in the county, though there are numer- 
ous country stores in nearly every section of the county. Un- 
til the establishment of Lee county in 1866, the towns of Bald- 
wyn, Guntown, Saltillo, Verona and Shannon belonged to Ita- 
wamba. 

There are no raili'oads through the county, but the Tombigbee 
river, running north to south, furnishes a means of transporta- 
tion in the late fall and spring of the year. Other smaller 
streams are Bull Mountain, Bogue Folia, Bogue Eegaby, Cum- 
mings, Gum and Panther Creeks. 

Itawamba county has 30,799 acres of cleared land ; average 
value, as rendered to the assessor, being $5.72 per acre. Total 
value of cleared lands, including incorporated towns, is $193,764. 

The population of this county, as shown by the census report 
of 1890: Whites, 10,695, colored, 1,013; total, 11,708. 

Representatives. 



Senators. 
1837 John Bell. 
1838-39 TohnBell. 

1840 John Bell. 

1 841 William H. Duke. 

1842 John H. Miller. 

1843 John H. Miller. 

1844 Russell O. Beene. 
1846 Russell O. Beene. 
1848 Russell O. Beene. 

1850 Russell O. Beene. 
1852 Russell O. Beene. 
1854 Russell O. Beene. 

1856 Russell O. Beene. 

1857 William Beene. 

1858 William Beene. 

1859 J. M, Simonton. 

1860-61 J. M. Simonton. 
1861-62 M. C. Cummings. 

1865-66-67 J. M. Simonton. 

1870-71 T. M. Stone. 

1872-73 R. H. Allen. 

1874-75-76 R. H. Allen. 

1877-78 R. H. Allen. 

1880-82 David Johnson. 

1884 R. O. Reynolds, John M. 

Simonton. 
1886 R. O. Reynolds, John M. 

Simonton. 
1888 J. C. Burdine, J, L. Turnage. 
1890 J. C. Burdine, J. L. Turnage. 



Alfred G. Lane. 
W^illiam M. Owen. 
William M. Owen. 



A. G. Lane, J. Lindsay, Charles Warren. 
Wm. Beene, J. C. Hinds, Wm. C. Cypert. 
A. J. McWilliams, J. C. Hinds, William C. 

Cypert. 
Wm. Beene, J. C. Hinds, H. M. Rogers. 
C. Hodges, C. Devours, Sam. M. Vernon. 
Chas. Hodges, J. W. Downs, D. W. Owen. 
J. W. Downs, T. A. Carter, Jas. S. Clayton. 
J. S. Clayton. Wm. Downs, T. A. Carter, 
G. W. Stoval, P. Evans, J. C. Gjlstrap. 
J. Barden, W. Davis, J. Walk 4; r, J. C. Gil- 

strap. 
J. Barden, I. C. Gilstrap, J. Wa\ker. 
W. B. Shelby, J. P. Barton, J. Barden, J. G. 

Nelson. 
H. K. Martin, M. Pound, J. D. Williams, J. 

D. Gilstrap. 
Eli Phillips. 

Baldridge. 

David Johnson. 
David Johnson. 
W. A. Nabers. 
W. A. Nabers. 



J. M. Weaver. 

W. P. Reeves. 
Wm.. A. Hartsfield. 



CHAPTER XXVII. 



ISSAQUENA COUNTY. 

WAS established December 23d, 1844. Among the first 
settlers were Thomas G. Parks, Andrew and Thomas J. 
TurnbuU, Zenas Preston, Eobert M. Smith, James L. Mayfield. 

The Andersons, whose descendants are now prominent citi- 
zens of the county — one of whom, Frank Anderson, was for 
years sheriff of the county, and W. S. Anderson, a Kepresenta- 
tive in the State Senate ; William G. Mayers, Col. W. T. Ber- 
nard, the families of Shelby, Hill and Sellars, Mike Everhardt, 
Thomas Kershaw, Eobinson, James M. Clarke, father of the late 
Hon. B. D. Clarke, Assistant Secretery of the Interior during 
President Cleveland's administration ; H. E. W. Hill, who was 
the owner of a large estate in the county; James P. Grrambling, 
John L. Chapman, Dohertys, Mordecai Powell, Wm. Wallis, 
Thomas Erwing, Judge Thomas W. Hays, Zach Leatherman, 
Nelsons, Sampson Williams, W. S. Gibbons, Wilson Spencer, 
Col. Gibson, father-in-law of Benjamin Hardaway, of Vicksburg ; 
William McQuilling, and Captain Joel O. Stevens, who has long 
been engaged in the steamboat business on the Sunflower and 
Yazoo rivers. 

The towns in the county are: Meyersville, the county site, 
named for David Meyer, a large cotton planter of that county, 
now residing in Vicksburg; Skipwith, Ingomar, Tallulah and 
Alexander. 

The streams are Steele's Bayou, with the Mississippi river 
forming the western and Deer Creek the eastern boundary of 
the county, with numei'ous lakes, among which are Moon, Lafay- 
atte and Five-Mile lakes. 

The Louisville, New Orleans & Texas Eailroad traverses the 
northeastern corner of the county. 

Issaquena has 54,869 acres of cleared land ; average value per 
acre, $14.24; total value, including incorporated towns, $809,819. 

The population of this county, as shown by the census report 
of 1890 : Whites, 692 ; colored, 11,623; total, 12,252. 

Senators. Representatives. 

1846 Lelix Labauve. James J. B. White. 

1848 Jas. J. B. White. M. Powell. 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 497 

1850 J. J. While. J. J. Hughes. 

1852-54 W. L. Johnston. Wm. T. Barnard. 

i856-'57 Peter B. Starke. Isaac C. Hill. 

1858 Peter B. Starke. Davis. 

i859-'6o-'6i Peter B. Starke. Wirt Adams. 

i86i-'62 Peter B. Starke. W. D. Brown. 

i865-'66-'67 W. S. Yerger. W. D. Brown. 
i87o-'7i Thos. Stringer, A. My- R.Griggs. 

gatt. 

i872-'73 W^m. Gray. R. Griggs. 

i874-'75 Wm. Gray. Wm. H. Tones. 

1876 Wm. Gray. W. H. Jones, S. S. Sanderlin. 

1877 W. H. Jones, S. S. Sanderlin. 

1878 W. S. Fari=h. Henry P. Sco:tt. 
1880 W. S. Anderson. Lem Moore. 
18S2 H. R.Jeffords. S. B. Blackwell. 
1884 H. R. Jeffords. Lem Moore. 
1886-88 D. C. Casey. S. B. Blackwell. 
1890 H. L. Foote. C. J Jones. 



JACKSON COUNTY 

Was established December 14th, 1812, and was named in honor 
of General Andrew Jackson. 

Among the early settlers were Helaine Krebs, John Baptiste, 
Eene Krebs, Valentine Delmas, Joseph Raby, John Cumbest, J. 
W. Williams, J. W. Terrell, Matthew GoflF, W. D. Sheldon, R. C 
Files, J. Flechar, W. C. Diggs, John Mclnnis, William Griffin, 
E. Trehern, W. G. Elder, Thomas Rhodes, H. Ehless, Lyman 
Randall, J. J. McRae, A. E. Lewis, John Shanahan, A. Catohot, 
George Byrd, Chas. Havens, H. C. Haven, D. Reeves, William 
Reeves, G. Helvestion, J. Parker, C. Ward, A. C. Steede, James 
Davis and Walter Denny. 

The old towns were east Pascagoula, West Pascagoula and 
Ocean Springs. 

The towns now in the county are Ocean Springs, Vancleave, 
Pascagoula, Scranton and Moss Point. 

The principal streams are the Pascagoula and Dog Rivers, 
into each of which flow numerous creeks, with a capacity for 
floating logs and timber. 

There are about twelve saw mills in the county, with a capa- 
city of probably six hundred thousand feet per day; in addition 
there are several valuable planing mills. 

The shipment of lumber and hewn timber is the chief indus- 
try, and is carried on from mills and booms at Moss Point and 
Scranton, and for years past has been very extensive. This tim- 
ber and lumber is put aboard ships in the harbor at Ship and 
32 



498 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

Horn Islands and sent to England, France, Germany, Spain, Por- 
tugal, Mexico, the West Indies, indeed to almost every civilized 
country. 

The magnitude of this industry has never been realized by 
the people of the State ; nor the beauty of the beach fully appre- 
elated, for a more delightful resort for both summer and winter 
it is difficult to find, and the prosperous towns along the coast 
can afford every accommodaiion to visitors that are found else- 
where. 

The county is growing in population and wealth, and in the 
near future, miles along the beach will be improved and devel- 
oped, and made so attractive that JMississippians who seek recrea- 
tion or health will find it on their own coast. 

The history of Jackson county would not be complete without 
reference to the mysterious music heard in summer nights, aris- 
ing from the waters of the Pascagoula river, as they flow into 
the broad bosom of the Mississippi Sound. This has long been 
a theme of poets and story-writers. The tradition in regard to 
this mysterious music is well known to the dwellers on our sea- 
shore, and has in it something of the high-heroic scorn of death, 
which, according to Thomas Babbington Macauly, characterized 
the Romans "in the brave days of old." 

The Pascagoula Indians were sorely beset by hostile tribes. 
They had been defeated on many well-contested fields ; their 
young braves had fallen in battle ; their towns were destroyed and 
their fields wasted. None were left but infirm old men, with the 
helpless women and children. The exulting shouts of their victo- 
rious foes were already ringing in their ears, when, as moved 
by one impulse, the remnant of the tribe determined to welcome 
death beneath the whelming waves rather than live to be the 
slaves of their dested foes. To resolve was to act. In a few brief 
moments a procession was formed for the river, where the old 
men, the women and the children, the last of the tribe of the 
Pascagoulas, clasped hands, marched into the shining waters 
chanting their death song, until bubbles marked the spot where 
the last of the Pascagoulas ceased to live. 

Ever since the Pascagoulas sang their death song on that mem- 
orable occasion, soft, sweet sounds may be heard rising in sad 
cadence during the summer nights from the placid waters of the 
Pascagoula river, and people of imaginative minds have come to 
regard these sad, sweet sounds as the echo of the death-wail of 
women and children who, two centuries ago, perished beneath 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 



499 



the waves. The whole story may be a fiction, but many dwel- 
lers in the the vicinity of the Pascagoulas do not so regard it. 

The Louisville and Nashville Eailroad traverses the southern 
portion of the county. 

Jackson county has 2,750 acres of cleared land—the average 
value of which, as rendered to the assessor, is $6.56 per acre. 
Total value of cleared lands including incorporated towns is 
$513,591. 

The population of this county as shown by the census report 
of 1890: Whites, 7,810; colored, 3,440; total, 11,250. 



Senators. 
1820 Isaac R. Nicholson. 
1821-22 Isaac R. Nicholson. 
1823-25 Laughlin McKay. 

1826 John McLeod. 

1827 John McLeod, 

1828 John McLeod. 

1829 John McLeod. 

1830 John McLeod. 

183 1 Thomas S. Stirling. 
1833 John McLeod. 
1835 Thomas P. Falkner. 
1836-37 Hanson Alsbury. 
1838-39 Hanson Alsbury. 
1840-41 Hanson Alsbury. 
1842-43-44 A W. Ramsey. 
1846 A. W. Ramsey. 

1848 A. W. Ramsey. 
1850-52 A. W. Ramsey. 
1854 A. W. Ramsey. 
1856-57 T J. McCaughan. 
1858 T. J. McCaughan. 
1859-60 J. B. McRae. 
1861-62 J, B. McRae. 
1865-66-67 Roderick Seal. 
1870-71 J. J. Seal. 

1872 J. J. Seal. 

1873 J- J- Seal. 

1874 J. P. Carter. 

1875 J. P- Carter. 

1876 J. P. Carter. 

1877 J. P. Carter. 
1878-80 J. P. Carter. 
1882-84 Elliott Henderson. 
1886 Roderick Seal. 

1888 Roderick Seal. 
1890 H. Bloomfield. 



Representatives. 



— McManis. 
Thomas Bibb, 
Thomas Bibb. 
John McDonald. 
William C. Seaman. 
William Starks. 
Thomas Bibb. 
John McDonald. 
John McDonald. 
John McDonald. 
John McDonald. 
Andrew W. Ramsey. 
Collin J. McRae. 
Charles I. Holland. 
John Grant. 
L. Randall. 
John Davis. 
All red E. Lewis. 
Rufus R. Rhodes. 
T. L. Sumrall. 
R. C. Files. 
Walter Denny. 
Walter Denny. 
William G. Kendall. 
I. N, Osborne. 

R. Seal. 



John M. Mclnnis. 
E. F. Griffin. 
Charles H. Wood. 
James B. McRae. 
James B. McRea. 
J. M. Pelham. 
J. M. Pelham. 



JASPBE COUNTY 
Was established in 1833 (the Kevised Code of 1880 fixed it at 
1823, which is a misprint), and was named in honor of Sergeant 
Jasper of Eevolutionary fame. 



500 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

Samuel Grrayson, Asa Hartfield, Eobert James, Wm. Ellis, H. 
W. Ward, Henry Hale, George Evans, C. Dyer, N. Martin and J. 
Bidwell were commissioners to organize the county. 

Among the early settlers of Jasper were Thomas C. Heidle- 
burg, John McCormick, Joshua Terrel, James S. Terrel, Fgun- 
l tain Land, Thos. Dean, L. L. Porter, Wm. C. Bounds, Eeddick 
Rogers, Drew Sumrall, John Carraway, Edwin S. Carraway, Wm. 
Jones, Archibald McCollum, Robert Cooper, Henry Miley, 
•sHowell Hargraves, Uriah Millsaps, Ransom J. Jones, Thos. S. 
Newman, Thos. Newell, Asa Hartfield, Reuben Hartfield, Wm. 
Hartfield, Oliver C. Dease, who was at an early day prominent 
in politics in the State ; he served in both branches of the Legis- 
lature, is the f Ather-in-law of Col. Jas. J. Shannon, of Meridian, 
and the grandfather of John H. Miller, Esq., a forcible writer and 
experienced journalist, is now, and has been for years editor of the 
Tupelo Journal in Lee county j Seth Fatheree, John D. Fatheree, 
James Dupriest,VPeter Loper, John Loper, Aaron Bolton, Farr 
Proctor, John D. Ratcliff, Jas.TThigpen, John Parker, Wm. Ellis, 
Simon B. Ellis, Jas. E. Watts, Henry W.Ward, Hamilton Brown, 
L. B. Brown, Elias Brown, Alfred Brown, Alford McCarty, 
Luke Barnett,*Wm. Bridges, John McDonald, Robert Crawford, 
Wiley Meeks, Larkin Collins, Jas. A. Chapman, John Watts, 
John Lightsey, Samuel Grayson, Adam Ulmer, Jones C. Morfatt, 
Jno. R. Brinson, David Lightsey, John Killow, Benjamin Moss, 
'^•Zachariah Thompson, Abel Merrill, Walden Lewis, Jno. J. Wil- 
liams, Wm. Rogers, N. McKinstey, Levi Hollyfield, Jas. M. Seals, 
R. R. Abney, Bartlett V. Cammage, the father-in-law of Robert 
Lowry ; ^Malachi Sharbrougb, Thos. Nelson, "Willis Holder, Rich- 
mond and Jack Cravan, Zedekiah Raynor, Francis Martin, John 
Williams, Thomas Hodges, John A. Hodges, Isham Hodge, 
Robert and Phillip H. James, Virgil Randle, Ezekiel Winjberly, 
Ichabod Kelly, Dan B. Johnston, Hugh Brebannan and John 
Anderson. 

Paulding, the county site, was named in honor of John Pauld- 
ing, one of the captors of Major Andre, Adjutant-General of the 
British Army, and was for many years a thrifty and prosperous 
town. Forty-five years ago it was called the "Queen City of 
the East." Fifty-four years ago the Eastern Clarion was estab- 
lished in Paulding by John J. McRae, referred to in preceding 
pages. The paper while owned by Jno. J. McRae v as conducted 
by Need and Duncan, Simeon R. Adams succeeded the founder 



HISTORY OB^ MISSISSIPPI. 501 

of the Clarion, under whose management it became a power in 
the State. He was elected State Senator from the Senatorial Dis- 
trict in which he resided. After the death of Mr. Adams, and 
during the late war, the paper was removed to Meridian, and 
after the cessation of hostilities was removed to the capital where 
its editorial columns were controlled for a number of years by 
Hon. E. Barksdale. A few years ago, the Clarion, then under 
the management of Col. J. L. Power, and the State Ledger, pub- 
lished and edited by E. H. Henry, united under the name of 
Clarion-Ledger, and is now edited and published by K. H. Henry 
and Col. J. L. Power. 

Among the early lawyers of Jasper county were John Watts, 
who was circuit judge for nearly twenty years, the father of Dr. 
Josiah Watts, of Newton, Captain Joseph Watts, of Scooba, and 
Thomas Watts, of Hickory, and the uncle of Major A. B. and 
Captain S. B. Watts, of Meridian ; James McDugald, a native of 
Scotland, who worked at his trade, that of 'tailor, when4ie first 
came to the country, studied law and became a most excellent 
advocate. He was elected to the State Senate in the Senatorial 
District in which he lived ; Joseph Heyfren, a native of Ireland, 
an accurate and strong lawyer. While Judge Thos. S. Sterling 
was on the bench he occasionally indulged in a glass of toddy, 
and upon an occasion while a little under the influence of liquor, 
he was annoyed with the pertinacity of the Irish lawyer in the 
conduct of a case, who persisted in desiring to read an authority. 
The judge said, "Mr. Heyfren, the point has been decided by this 
court." Mr. Heyfren replied, "I understand, your honor, but 
I only wanted to show you how profoundly ignorant was Sir 
William Blackstone." Henry Calhoun, father of Henry Calhoun, 
of Scott county, and father-in-law of Greneral J. A. Smith, was a 
lawyer of good attainments ; Henry S. Mounger, a native of 
Georgia, a lawyer by profession, and a thorough Christian gen- 
tleman settled in Paulding, and married the daughter of an old 
and prominent citizen. Judge Uriah Millsaps. He was elected 
circuit judge, and was on the bench four years. He was the 
father of Eev. Edwin H. Mounger, and the father-in-law of Eev. 
Eansom J. Jones, both distinguished divines, and members of 
the Methodist Conference in this State. His son, W. H. Mounger, 
served several terms as sheriff of Jasper county. 

The towns now in the county are Paulding, Grarlandsville, 
Heidleburg, Vossburg and Lake Como. 



502 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 



The principal streams are Tallahala, Tallaboma, Swaunee, 
Ettahoma, Tallahatta, Shubuta and Town creeks. 

The New Orleans and North-Eastern Eailroad runs through 
the southeastern corner of the county. 

The prairie, bottom and hammock lands are excellent, and the 
uplands average well with adjacent counties. 

The population is intelligent and reasonably prosperous. 

Jasper county has 67,101 acres of cleared land; average value 
as rendered to the assessor, $4.17 per acre ; total value of 
cleared lands, including incorporated towns, $282,644. 

The population of the county as shown by the census report of 
1890: Whites, 7,318 j colored, 7,288; total 14,606. 



Senators. 
1836 

1837 Oliver C. Dease. 
i838-'39 Oliver C. Dease. 
i840-'4i Jno. C. Thomas. 
i842-'43 Jno. C. Thomas. 
1844 Simeon R. Adams. 
1846 Simeon R. Adams. 
i848-'50 James McDugald, 
1852 R. N. Hough. 
1854 R. N. Hough. 
i856-'57 R N. Hough. 
1858 R. N. Hough. 
i859-'6o-'6i Robert McLane. 
i86i-'62 Robert McLane. 
i865-'66-'67 P. H. Napier. 

1870 Wm. M. Hancock. 

187 1 John Watts. 
1872-73 John Watts. 
1874-75 T. B. Graham. 

1876 T. B. Graham. 

1877 H. C. McCabe. 

1878 Asa R. Carter. 
1880 Asa R. Carter. 
1882 Thomas Keith. 
1884 John F. Smith. 
1886 John F. Smith. 
1888 T. A. Wood. 
1890 T, A. Wood. 



Representatives. 



Jno. C. Thomas. 

Jno. C. Thomas. 

Peter Loper. 

L. B. Ellis. 

Peter Loper. 

L. J. Jones. - 

John McDonald. 

L. B. Ellis. 

L. J. Jones. 

James J. Shannon. 

Benjamin Thigpen. 

D. D. McLaurin. 

A. F. Dantzler. 

J. S. Dantzler. 

L. J. Jones. 

Elisha Dansby. 

Elisha Dansby. 

J, M. Loper. 

A. F. Smith. 

Duncan D. McLaurin. 

Duncan D. McLaurin. 

A. M Dozier. 
D. A. Morris. 
Joseph Blankinship. 
Samuel Whitman. 

B. W. Sharbrough. 
W. W. Heidleberg. 
Samuel Whitman. 



y 



JEFPEESON COUNTY, 

Named for Thomas Jefferson, was established January 11th, 
1802, and participated in the territorial legislation up to the for- 
mation of the Constitution in 1817. In the Convention for form- 
ing a Constitution and State government in the year mentioned, 
Cowles Mead, Cato West, Hezekiah J. Balch and Joseph E. 
Davis were the delegates representing Jefferson county. 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 503 

The early settlers of the county were from North and South 
Carolina, Virginia and Maryland. The earliest settlement made 
in what is now the western portion of Jefferson eonntj' was in 
1780, during the Spanish occupancy of the county. The first 
American emigrants located on and contiguous to Coles Creek. 
The most prominent oi these pioneers were the families of Thomas, 
Abner and Everard Green. Ancestors of the families of these 
names, and many others, (descendants of the fourth generation,) 
now living in this community, came from Virginia. Contem- 
poraneously with these there came from North Carolina, Mr. 
Moss, (the father of the late venerable Mrs. Martha W. Cox,) 
and also came Eobert Cox, who subsequently became the hus- 
band of the lady mentioned, and later to the same neighborhood 
Eev. Abam Cloud, a deacon in the Protestant Episcopal Church. 

Near the same period, while Governor Gayoso was exercising 
authority and jurisdiction over the Spanish dominion, which em- 
braced what is now Jeflerson county, came Koger Dixon from 
Virginia. Mr. Dixon was an active, energetic man and exerted 
himself in behalf of the new comers in endeavoring to restrain 
the oppressive policy of Spanish rulers. He accomplished much 
good and enjoyed the respect and confidence of those among 
whom he lived. Another of the prominent settlers was Thomas 
Calvit, of Calviton, father-in-law of the late David Hunt, Sr. It 
was to his house in the early part of the present century, that 
Aaron Burr, after his surrender, was conducted. David Hunt, 
though not among the first, was an early settler on Coles Creek. 
He became the most successful and wealthiest planter in the 
county. He was a native of New Jersey, and when a youth came 
west in the capacity of a clerk and assistant to his uncle, Abijah 
Hunt, who received the appointment of sutler in Wayne's army 
which was sent to chastise the turbulent tribes on the western 
frontier. Abijah Hunt realized a considerable fortune from the 
appointment, and when hostilities ceased he came to the "Natchez 
country" to invest his capital. He engaged in large mercantile 
operations, established a number of stores, one in Greenville, the 
then county site of Jefferson, which was in charge of his nephew. 
David. Abijah Hunt fell in a duel with Governor George Poin- 
dexter. He was a batchelor and left a considerable estate, upon 
which David was administrator. David Hunt was a superior 
business man, and accumulated during his long and successful 
life extensive and valuable possessions. He was a liberal patron 
of public education and the principal founder of Oakland 



504 HISTORY OF MTRSISSIPPI. 

College. He gave freely to all public enterprises that were 
meritorious. At a later period George Dent settled on lower 
Cole's Creek, also Jas. Cowden. On upper Cole's Creek were 
the Harrison brothers; thej' were nephews of Phillip B. Barbour, 
the eminent statesman and jurist of Virginia. The elder 
brother, Phillip B. Harrison, served as sheriff of the county. 
Some years later a settlement was made in the vicinity of the 
present Church Hill; this was called the Maryland settlement, as 
the most prominent settlers came from the State of Maryland* 
Most of them brought their families, slaves and household effects ; 
this was soon after the Spanish evacuation of the country, and 
its attendant transfer of territory. Among them were Col. 
James G. Wood, (in future years,) the patriarch of the tribe, 
Alexander Young, Kichard Skinner, Captain Magruder, a retired 
sea raptain, Leonard A. Magruder, Aaron Noble, John Steele* 
the Dunbars, Benoits and Shields. A lady, known in history as 
the patroness of S. S. Prentiss, was a member of the last named 
family. Joseph Dunbar filled several important public positions, 
at one time Sui'veyor-General of the State, sheriff of the county, 
and served several terms in the State Legislature. He invented 
the iron cotton tie as a substitute for the rope. James Payne 
was for a long time an^Jextensive merchant and planter of Church 
Hill and at his death left numerous descendants, all of whom 
occupy high social positions. The Petit Gulf settlement, since 
and now called Rodney, was composed of Pierce Nolan, Dr. 
Nutt, Dr. Eli Harden, John Tullis, Andrew Montgomery, the 
Harrisons, Griffins and Gibsons. They were all prosperous peo- 
ple and grew rich. The leading merchants at Rodney in the 
early days were John Ducker, Levi Harris, John Watt, J. G. 
James, and later, the Warners, Kirkers, Yoes, Drakes, Evans, 
Broughtons and Becks. The principal physicians in those times 
in western Jefferson were Drs. Bouldin, Nutt, Savage, Coleman 
and McPheeters. 

A prominent gentleman and large planter in Jefferson, states 
that Cowles Mead introduced the celebrated Bermuda grass, 
which has proved such a boon to this country; where he procured 
it the gentleman is not advised. 

In an early day there lived within a few miles of Fayette, the 
celebrated robber, Mason. The commerce on the river was 
carried on in flat or keel boats, and hundreds of men from the 
west would float these boats to New Orleans, sell their produce 
and return on foot the entire distance to their homes. From 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 505 

Natchez the generally traveled route was the old Indian trail, 
passing through Jeiferson, thence to Jackson and on to Florence, 
Alabama. These persons were generally loaded down with 
Spanish dollars, which was then the principal currency, and 
could usually stop at any house for the night as welcome guests, 
on account of their ready cash. The grandmother of Hon. W. L. 
Harper, who has represented Jefferson county in the Legislature 
a number of times, did her share of entertaining. One of these 
travelers, a J'oung Kentnckian, was taken sick at her house and 
detained for some weeks; his conduct and bearing was so unex- 
ceptional that she took great interest in him, and actually quilted 
all his $600 (six hundred dollars) in his coat and vest, partly to 
distribute his load, but chiefly to deceive the robbers then infest- 
ing the road. She heard no more of him but the supposition 
was that he was another of Mason's victims. Mason's depreda- 
tions continued to increase, until Governor Claiborne offered a^ 
large reward for him dead or alive. One of Mason's gang killed 
an innocent man, cut off his head, carried it to the Grovernor and 
claimed the reward. The Governor sent for Mrs. Mason, who 
on examination swore that it was not the head of her husband, 
and the claimant being identified by a gentleman just arrived, as 
the verj'- man who had robbed him a few days before, he, with 
another pal, was hung at Greenville, the county site, in a field 
that is called the ''gallows field" to this day. 

After the battle of New Orleans, and after peace had been re- 
stored. General Jackson marched his men to Nashville, some six 
hundred miles ; on the route they camped at Greenville, in Jeffer- 
son county^ where the people of the surrounding country turned 
out to greet them. 

The lands of this county, much of which were British and 
Spanish grants, are drained by the two branches of Cole's Creek, 
running west, which unite six miles before reaching the river. 
The tributaries are numerous, with broad, rich bottoms giving a 
fair proportion of hill and valley lands. The north fork of 
Homochitto river, bearing southeast, is the principal drain for 
the eastern section around Union Church. There are several 
smaller creeks, Fairchilds, Dowds and others, that are short and 
serve as sewers for rain water. 

Eodney is the chiel shipping point for the country, called in 
honor of Judge Rodney. Larger fortunes were, perhaps, made 
in Rodney merchandising than in any town of like size in the 



506 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 



South, owing in a great measure to the wealthy and solvent con- 
dition of the planting interests on the fertile hills around it. 
The Natchez, Jackson & Columbus and the Louisville, New 
Orleans & Texas railroads pass directly through the center of 
the county. 

The ancient county site, Greenville, has been converted^ into a 
cotton field, but the site of the gallows can still be pointed out. 
Fayette, the present county site, is a handsome little town, 
with excellent public buildings. Harriston, at the junction of 
the two railroads, two miles from Fayette, is a thrifty village, 
and claims to be a rival of its near neighbor, the county site. 
Jefferson is an excellent county with an intelligent and pros- 
perous population. 

This county has 58,661 acres of cleared land ; average value 
per acre, as rendered to the assessor, being $10.00 j total value 
of cleared lands, including incorporated towns, is $700,434. 

The population of Jefferson county as shown by the census re- 
port of 1890 : whites, 3,542 ; colored, 15,403 j total, 18,945. 

Representatives. 

Jas. Dunbar, Jos. E. Davis. 

Isaac N. Selser, Wm. Blanton. 

Cowles Mead. 

I. N. Selser, Thos. Hinds, R. Dunbar. 

Malcolm Gilchrist, Cowles Mead. 

John L. Irwin, Malcolm Gilchrist. 

Phillip Dixon. 

Wm. Green, Claudius Gibson. 

N. L. Boulden, Philip Dixon. 

Joseph Dunbar, A. L. Boulden. 

A. B. Bradford, Jno. L. Irwin. 

Jas Dunbar, Philip Dixon. 

Jas. Dunbar, Malcolm Gilchrist. 

P. K. Montgomery, Geo. Leighton. 

P. K. Montgomery, Geo. Leighton. 

Chas. Clarke, Jas. Wood. 

Thos. Dobyns, G. II. Wilcox. 



Senators. 

1820 Armstrong Ellis. 

1821 Cowles Meade. 

1822 Samuel Cavit. 

1823 Samuel Cavit. 

1825 Harden D. Runnels. 

1826 Harden D. Runnels. 

1827 John L. Irwin. 

1828 John L. Irwin. 

1829 John L. Irwin. 

1830 Benjamin Kennedy. 

1831 Benjamin Kennedy. 
1833 Buckner Harris. 
1835 Solomon Tracy. 
1836 

1837 Hugh Montgomery. 
i838-'39 Hugh Montgomery. 
i840-'4i P. O Hughes. 

1842 P. O. Hughes. 

1843 P- O. Hughes. 

1844 Edward Turner. 
1846 Edward Turner. 
1848 Parmenas Briscoe. 
1850 Geo. Torry. 

1852 Geo Torry. 
1854 Henry T. Ellett. 
i856-'57 Henry T. Ellett. 
1858 Henry T. Ellett. 
i859-'6o Henry T. Ellett. 
i86i-'62 Henry T. Ellett. 
1865 P. K. Montgomery. 
i866-'67 P. K. Montgomery. 
i87o-'7i Orange S. Miles. 
i872-'73-'74 H. B. McClure. 



Jas. Andrews. 

Geo, Torry. 

Geo. Torry. 

G. H. Wilcox. 

Howell Hinds. 

Wm. L. Harper. 

G. G. Nowland. 

— Duncan. 

E. H. Hicks. 

E. H. Hicks. 

E. H. Hicks. ■ 

Put Darden. 

P. Balch, M. Howard. 

Jas. D. Cesser, Wm. Landers. 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 507 

1875 H. B. McClure. Jas. D. Cesser, Wm. Landers. 

1876 H. B. McClure. Jas. D, Cessor, W. G. Millsaps. 

1877 M. M. Currie. Jas. D. Cessor, W. G. Millsaps. 

1878 M. M. Currie. Claude Pintard, C. B. Richardson. 
1880 Tlios. A. Magee. W. D. Terry, 1). H. Cameron. 
1882 Thos. A. Magee. W. L. Haiper, J. J. Whitney. 
1884 J. J. Whitney. W. L. Harper, R. R. Applewhite. 
1886 J. J. Whitney. Jeff Truly, J. P. Wise. 

1888 G. A. Guice. J S. Hicks, J. J. Whitney. 

1890 G. A. Guice. T. L. Darden, R. R. Applewhite. 



JONES COUNTY 



Was established January 24th, 1826, and among the earliest set- 
tlers were Nathan Simpson, Thomas Heidleburg, John McCor- 
mick, Abner Kelly, Aaron Welborn, Isaac Evans, John Bridges, 
John Strickland, Eobert Crawford, John Terrall, Benjamin Moss, 
Grreen Sims, John C. Smith, father of Col. John F. Smith, now 
of Jasper county, who has served acceptably several terms in 
both branches of the State Legislature, and as a member of the 
Constitutional Convention of 1890; Daniel C. Smith, James Fer- 
guson, Archie Patterson, Jacob Kelly, Peter Mitchell, Isaac An- 
derson, James Blackwell, Samuel Ellis, the Welches, Shepp, 
Thomas Pace and Stacey Collins. 

The important streams in the county are Leaf river, running 
through the extreme western portion of the county, Tallahala, 
Tallahoma and Bogue Homa Creeks. 

The Towns are BUisville, the county site, Laurel, Sanders- 
ville, Eastabutcha and Tuscoloma. 

Jones was for many years regarded the poorest county in the 
State. It was without railroad facilities, the lands rated low, 
and personal property was inconsiderable in value. It was 
regarded as being better adapted for raising stock, cattle and 
sheep than for agriculture. There was a wealth of superior pine 
timber, but it could not be utilized. 

After the New Orleans and Northeastern Kailroad was built, 
the county commenced improving. This road runs through the 
county from the north-east to the south-west. The valuation of 
personalty for 1889 was more than that of twenty-two other 
counties in the State. The approximate value of cleared lands in 
the county is higher per acre than that of twenty-six other conn- 
ties in the State. 

This large increase in value is attributable in a great measure 



508 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 



to the railroad which has opened up, not only Jones, but other 
pine woods counties to the markets north and south. 

Ellis ville, the county site, is a flourishing, thrifty town, com- 
posed of an excellent population. The court-house is equal, if 
not superior, to that of any other in the eighth Judicial District. 

During the cotton season of 1888 and 1889 there was shipped 
from Ellisville not less than twenty thousand bales. 

The lands, outside their timber value, with fertilization, pro- 
duce satisfactory crops. 

Jones county has 15,268 acres of cleared land ; average value 
per acre, as rendered to the assessor $4.62. Total value of 
cleared lands, including incorporated towns, $139,460. 

The population of this county as shown by the census report 
of 1890 : Whites, 7,027 j colored, 1,295 ; total, 8,322. 
Senators, Representatives. 



1827-28 Hamilton Cooper. 
1829 Hamilton Cooper. 
1830-31 Thomas S. Sterling. 
1833 John McLeod. 

1835 Thomas P. Falkner. 

1836 Hanson Alsbury. 
1837-38-39 Frederick Pope. 
1840 John Watts. 
1841-42 John Watts. 

1843 

1844-46 John H. Horn, 

1848-50-52 Joseph McAfee. 

1854 Graves. 

1856-57-58 S. B. Hathorn, 
1859-60-61 W. J. Rankin. 
1861-62 W. J. Rankin. 
> 1865-66-67 John F. Smith. 

1870 William Hancock. 

1871 John Watts. 
1872-73 T. J. Hardy. 

1874 T. L. Mendenhall. 

1875 T. L. Mendenhall. 
1876-77 T. L. Mendenhall. 
1878 Stanley Gibert. 

1880 Stanley Gibert. 
1882 James S. Eaton. 
1884 James S. Eaton. 
1886 J. L. Morris. 
1888 J. L. Morris. 
1890 A. G, Gerguson. 



John C. Thomas. 
Samuel Ellis. 
Samuel Ellis. 
Samuel Ellis. 
Samuel Ellis. 
Samuel Ellis. 
Samuel Ellis. 
Samuel Ellis, 
Drury Bynum. 
Drury Bynum. 
Drury Bynum. 
Drury Bynum. 
B. C. Duckvvoith. 
Joseph Pool. 
J. F. Smith. 
Amos Deason. . 
Amos Deason. 
V. A. Collins. 
V. A, Collins. 
George C. Buchanan. 



John T. Fairley, 
Samuel C. Trest. 
J. G. Welborn. 
J. G. Welborn. 
Thomas J. Huff. 
William Bayliss. 
T. W. Collins. 
A. Arrington. 



CHAPTER XXVIII. 



KBMPEE COUNTY, 

SO named in honor of Col. Eeuben Kemper, a Virginian by 
birth and a distinguished soldier dnring the troublous 
years of the Territorial era, was established in 1823, with De- 
Kalb as the county site. 

Among the early settlers were F. P. Scott, B. C, Opeef, an 
Israelite lawyer ; Judge Marshall, Joseph Baldwyn, author of 
''Plush Times in Alabama and Mississippi ; " Wm. Potis, John 
Olive, T. Mosley, McClagar Magee, S. S. Lattimore, Abel Key, first 
Clerk of the county; Judge W. G. Gribbs, Slocum Gully, father 
of Phil M. Gully and the late John W. Gully ; Archie Adams, 
Henry Gregory, Pearsons, Hulls, Wm. Fox, brother of the late 
Mala Fox, of Eankin county, and the late Dr. Fox, of Scott 
county ; Wm. Murry, Wm. Callaway, Peter P. Cullum ; John 
McConnell, Dr. Albert Brown, Jacks, James Britton, Over- 
streets, Joseph Doty, Thos. Prewitt, John Spinks, Jones, McWil- 
liams, Jake Odum, Jacob Giles, Judge Isaac Nicholson, George 
Kimbrough, Allen Avery, Whitesetts, Clarke Carter, O. Y. 
Neely, Governor John J. Pettus, John Kerr and Thos. Thurman. " 

The principal towns are DeKalb, named for Baron DeKalb; 
Scooba, Wahalak, Oak Grove, Kellis' Store and Moscow. 

The principal streams are Sucarnochee, Particfaw, Yazoo, Pun- 
ning Tiger and Black Water creeks. 

The Mobile & Ohio Kailroad runs through the eastern portion 
of the county from north to south. 

The prairie lands of the county are excellent and productive, 
as are the creek and branch bottoms, and the hills respond gen- 
erously to good cultivation. 

Kemper county has 29,764 acres of cleared land ; average 
value per acre, as rendered to the assessor, $4.44 ; total value of 
cleared lands, including incorporated towns, $453,429. 

The population of this county, as shown by the census report 
of 1890 : Whites, 7,845 ; colored 10,084; total, 17,929. 



510 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 



Senators. 

1835 
1836 

1837 Joseph A. Marshall. 

1838 Joseph A. Marshall. 

1839 Ephriam Smith. 
l840-'4i Joseph A. Marshall. 

1842 Joseph A. Marshall. 

1843 Joseph A. Marshall. 

1844 Emanuel A. Durr. 
1846 Emanuel A. Durr. 
1848 John J. Pettus. 
1850 John J. Pettus. 
1852 John J. Pettus. 
1854 John J. Pettus. 
i856-'57 John J. Pettus. 

1858 Isaac Enloe. 

1859 Isaac Enloe. 
i86o-'6i Isaac Enloe. 
i86i-'62 O. Y. Neely. 
i865-'66-'67 H. C. Robinson. 
i87o'-7i R. E. Leachman. 

1872 Geo. Smith. 

1873 Geo. Smith, J. P. Gilmer. 
1874-75 Isham Stewart. 
i876-'77 H. W. Foote, Isham 

Stewart. 
1878 W, C. Dowd. 
1880 C. A. Wilcox. 
1882 John Terry. 
1884 John Terry. 
1886 H. J. Gully. 
1888 H. J. Gully. 
1890 VV. F. Rogers. 



R EPRESENTATI VES. 

Francis Thomas. 

I. W. Nicholson. 

I. W Nicholson. 

D. T. Portis, Jas. M. Trussell. 

Sidney M. Goode, J. C. Rupert. 

Wm. L. Cole. 



L. Stovall, J. J. Pettus. 

John J. Pettus. 

O. Y. Neely, L. J, Garrett. 

T. R. Thurmond, J. R. Welsh. 

Peter H. Cole 

Ellis Henderson, Lumpkin J. Garrett. 

Ellis Henderson, J. W. Nicholson. 

B. A. Calhoun, A. T Stennis. 

H. Tisdale. « 

W. A. Love. 

P. H. Gully, M. Edwards. 

Albert Brown, John McRae. ' 

Jas H. Hudnall. 

Jas. H. Hudnall. 

Jas H. Hudnall. 

A M, Chamberlain. 

Thos. P. Bell. 

John L. Spinks. 

J. H. Currie. 

A. M. Moore. 

J. L. Hudnall, W. L. Evans. 

W. T. Rush, W. L Evans. 

lohn Oerrstreet, A. F. McGee. 

J, T. Gewin, W. D. Witherspoon. 



LAFAYETTE COUNTY 

Was named in grateful recognition of the military services of 
the Marquis De LaFayette, the early friend of the struggling 
colonists in the war of the revolution, and was established in 
1836. 

Among the early settlers were C. M. Phipps, Peyton Jones, 
William Bowles, James Bowles, Anthony Lambert, William H. 
Smither, Andrew Peterson, George Bullin, Eeuben Griffin, Dr. 
E. C. Carter, Dr. McMackin, Dr. Watt, John Estelle, John 
Blakely, John Sims, John J. Craig, James S. Craig, Eli Neely, 
Nathaniel Jennings, Eichard M. Craig, C. G. Butler, Dudly 
Isom, John S. Hunt, Pascal Butler, James D. Harding, William 
Earl, James Brown, Joshua T. Brown,, John Browning, Joshua 
Browning, Caleb Browning, Dr. John Taylor, James Morrison, 
Dr. Tobbis, Col. Slaughter, Dr. Thomas D. Isom, Alexander 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 511 

Shaw, Newton Buford, Harper Groodloe, A. J. and A. Gr. Buford, 
James Trigg, S. B. Eagland, Egbert A. Meadows, James Davis, 
Oliver Wiley, Alexander McFarland, George McFarland, Daniel 
McParland, David Craig, Eleazer Andrews, W. E. Buckner, 
George Duckard, George Darden, A. H. Pegues, Malachi Pegues, 
H. M. Lee, John Houston, Eobert Houston, Alex Houston, James 
Dunn, Josiah Alexander, John Morrow and Joseph F. Arnette. 

The first town in the county was Wyatt, on the Tallahatchie 
river, about twelve miles from where Oxford now stands. Dr. 
Thomas G. Isora, who is yet in full practice, and stands pre- 
eminent in his profession, a gentleman of broad views, and uni- 
versally esteemed, a member of the Constitutional Convention 
of 1890, was the first citizen to locate where the thrifty and pros- 
perous town of Oxford now stands. He built a log cabin and 
opened a store, with the view and for the purpose of inviting 
others to locate on that beautiful ridge. 

The selection was an admirable one, and the early pioneer, 
who became one of the leading physicians of the State, has lived 
to see built up, in close proximity to his log cabin of fifty-four 
3'ears ago, not only an attractive little city, but a great semi- 
nar}'' of learning, that has turned out thousands of young men 
who have contributed to the elevation and prosperity of the 
commonwealth. 

In addition to the town of Oxford, there are Taylors, Spring- 
dale and Abbeville. 

The principal streams in the county are Tallahatchie river, on 
the northern and Yockana on the southern border of the county, 
Yellow Leaf, Pumpkin, Hanging Kettle, Potolocomy, Cypress, 
Hewncane, Clear, Tobytubby, Splinter, Taylors and Otuckolofa 
creeks. 

The Illinois Central railroad runs through the county. 

Lafayette county has 137,893 acres of cleared lands ; average 
value per acre, as rendered to the assessor, $4.86 ; total value 
of cleared lands, including incorporated towns, $1,040,379. 

The population of this county, as shown by the census report- 
of 1890: ''whites, 11,595; colored, 8,958 ; total, 20,558. 

Senators. Representatives. 

1837 John Rayburn. Horatio Nelson. 

i838-'39 John Rayburn. Robert Josselyn. 

1840 Thos. B. Hill. Tas. Craig. 

1841 Thos. B. Hill. Paul W. Barringer. 
i842-'43 A. H. Pegues. T. F. Cushman. 

i844-'46 A. H. Pegues. j. F. Cushman, R. H. Buford. 



512 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 



1850 J. E. Talliaferro. 
1852 J. E. Talliaferro. 
1854 A. H. Pegues. 
i856-'C7 A. H. Pegues. 
i858-'59-'6o-'6i J. M. Howry. 
i86i-'62 Jas R. Bowles. 
i865-'66-'67 Jas. Brown. 

1870 J. C. Shoup. 

1 87 1 W. L. Lyles. 

1872 W. L. Lyles. 

1873 W. L. Lyles. 
i874-'75 J- A. McNeil. 
i876-'77 J. A. McNeil. 
1878 W. L. Lowrance. 
1880 W. L. Lowrance. 
1882 Charles B. Mitchell. 
1884 Charles B. Mitchell. 
1886 R. A. Dean. 

1888 R. A, Dean. 
1890 R. A. Dean. 



Jas. Brown, R. H. Buford. 

Jas. F. Smith. 

Chas. G. Butler, Daniel F. Rogers. 

J. F. Cushman, D. W. Rogers. 

r>. W. Rogers, Wm. Owen. 

Wm. Owen, A. J. Buford. 

R. W. Phillips, Drury Robertson. 

W. G. Vaughn, S. N. W. Whitney. 

W. G. Vaughn, S. N. W. Whitney. 

J. H. McKie, J. C. Davis. 

J. H. McKie, B. F. Archer. 

W. B. Gilmer, B. F. Archer. 

A. L. Fortune, Bobert J. Guthrie. 

R. A. Dean, Wm. ] Stowers. 

Charles B. Howry, W. L. Buford. 

Charles B. Howry, L. B. Jones. 

A. J. Baker, T. B. Waldrup. 

T. B. Waldrup, J. H. Welch. 

J. R. Stowers, J. O. Davis. 

J. R Stower.s, Fielder Webster. 



LAWEENCE COUNTY 

Was established December 22d, 1814, carved out of the county 
of Marion that was created three years prior to that time. The 
date suggests the war between the United States and G-reat 
Britain. The county was named in memory of Captain Jas. Law- 
rence, who commanded the ship Chespeake in that struggle^ 
whose last words, when mortally wounded, were ''don't give up 
the ship V 

The earliest settler of the town and county was Harmon 
Runnels, who built the first house in Monticello, so named in 
honor of the residence of Thomas Jefferson. He reared a large 
family of sons and daughters. One of his sons, Hiram Gr. Eun- 
nels, was elected Governor of this State; and his grandson, of 
the same name, was subsequently elected Governor of Texas. 
Soon afterwards came Wright Mitchell, Joseph Cooper, Barthol- 
omew Longino, Henry Maxwell, Jas. Buckley, the grandfather 
of the late Jas. Buckley, who was assistant Auditor of Public 
Accounts and former Clerk of the Circuit Court of Lincoln 
county, Elias Mullens, Jesse Maxwell, John Maxwell, Samuel 
and Brewster Jayne, Aaron Hickman, Luke Butler, grandfather 
of Wra. Butler, who served several terms as sheriff of the 
count}^; Arthur Fox, Eandall Pierce, Hamilton Jet, the families 
of Smith, Cole, King, Hall, Bridges, Lenoir, Otis, Parkman, 
Fortenberry, Cannon, Eogers, Hooker, Ward, Cohea, Gwin, one 
of whom, the late Hon. Sylvester Gwin, was for some years 
Clerk of the Circuit Court of the '^ounty and afterwards Auditor 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI, 518 

of Public Accounts for eight years. He was thoroughly honor- 
able, generous to a fault, with a heart as tender as a woman, 
united with a courage that commanded the respect of his com- 
rades who stood with him on the front line of fire in the Con- 
federate struggle, where he received a wound from which he suf- 
fered until the day of his death, twenty-seven years afterward • 
Magee, Langston, Newton, Prestidge, Hilliard, Benson, Stamps, 
Baggett, Bowen, Newsom, Wilson, Sharpe, Mobley, Herring, 
Bennett, Burkett, Eobertson, Price, Baker, Larkin, Neil and 
Dickerson; Samuel Pepper, Isham Weathersby, Wm. Stein and 
M. J. Whitworth. 

Among the early merchants were John M. Elder, Samuel 
Jayne, Francis Blair, Wm. Whitehead and Chas. Lynch, the lat- 
ter afterwards Governor of the State, making two Governors 
furnished by this county. 

Wm. Eaj' and Aaron Harpes were prominent citizens in the 
early days, and their daughters are now the oldest inhabitants 
of the town. 

These pioneers were brave, honest, enterprising and hospitable 
people. 

The first court was called the county court and was held in 
the house of Wright Mitchell for five years, for which he was al- 
lowed ten dollars a year. The first court-house was built of 
logs in 1818, on the spot where the present building now stands. 
The county court was compos'ed of five judges, who were styled 
after the English custom of Shakespeare's day, "Justices of the 
Quorum." Three members constituted a quorum. The head of 
the bench was called "Chief Justice of the Quorum." This court 
seemed to exercise a most liberal jurisdiction. 
The first minutes of the court read as follows : 

" Mississippi Territory, ] 
Lawrence County, j 
"Be it remembered, that on the 6th day of March, 1815, that 
the honorable Justices of the Quorum of said county convened 
and formed a court in and for the county aforesaid. Present, 
their honors, 

"Harmon Eunnels, Chief Justice of the Quorum, 
"vStephen Noble, J. Q., 
"Benjamin Goodson, J. Q., 
"James Stigler, J. Q." 
Harmon M. Eunnels was appointed clerk, and Hardin D. 
Eunnels sheriff, both sons of the Chief Justice of the Quorum. 
38 



■514 HISTORY OK MISSISSIPPI. 

At the May term, 1818, there appears the following quaint en- 
try : "The case of a negro named Lemuel Harris, who is said 
to be free, who stood charged with the theft of one hog. List of 
jurors who tried the ease depending between R. H. Read, plain- 
tiff, and Lemuel Harris, charged with the theft, defendant, Jesse 
Wilson and eleven others are named. The following is the ver- 
dict : 

"We, the jury, are of the opinion that no substantial proof 
has been found against Free Harris. We think he took the hog, 
but didn't steal it. We, therefore, find him not guilty." 

That the reader may be informed of the jurisdiction of 
courts of that day, as well as old-time prices, the following order 
made at the February term, 1821, is appended : 

"Ordered that the within bill shall be considered as the rates 
to govern the tavern keepers in and for the town of Monticello, 
lo-wit : 

For keeping a horse twenty-four hours $1 00 

Single feed ' 37^ 

Dinner 50 

Supper 37J 

Lodging 12J 

Cognac brandy, per half pint 25 

Jamaica rum, per halt pint 25 

Corn whisky, per pint 12| 

Oin, per pint 18| 

Wine, per pint 25 

Cherry brandy, per pint ... ISf 

Monticello was at one time a place of considerable commercial 
Importance, with quite a number of enterprising merchants, 
among whom were Edward Englehard, John Teunisson, Wm, 
Burge, A. Beer, Charles Fish, James Bloch, G. C. McKennell^ 
Wm. Weathersb}', Moses Marx, John S. Carson, Robert Jelks and 
others. 

The town forty years ago boasted of a large and able bar, con- 
sisting of Thomas Holliday, Arthur Smith, Theodore S. Swift, 
W. A. Stone, William Vannerson, Wiley P. Harris, E. J. Groode, J. 
M. Ellis, B. C. Buckley, subsequently vice-Chancellor, Henry 
Sturgcs, G. S. McMillan, S. W. Dale, H. F. Johnson, M. A. Oatis, 
J. S. Prestidgc, R. J. Bowen, M. A. Keegan, S. C. Smith, John 
D. Bowen and Major E. L. Bowen, and later J. B. Chrisman, 
who is now, and has been for the past twelve years, on the cir- 
cuit court bench. 

Of the notable men ofthat period, 1844 to 1854, was Theodore 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 515 

S. Swift, who was not only a man of genius, but endowed with a 
fund of serviceable talent. A New Englander by birth, Swift 
took his course southward, tried the common expedient of school 
teaching in Virginia, and then came to Mississippi to devote him- 
self to the study and practice of law. He took up his abode at 
Monticello, Lawrence county, and belonged to the middle south- 
ern circuit which, including Scott county, extended to the sea- 
board. In learning he was a well furnished laAvyer, with a fine 
and ready perception of legal principles, and had great facility in 
composition and in speaking. His literary taste was excellent 
and retined; the cultivation of reading and mastering the English 
classics admit of such attainment. He employed this advantage 
with great success in addresses to the court and jury, and in con- 
versation. In that day the circuit judge and the lawyers rode the 
circuit in a body, and provided themselves with the miscellane- 
ous materials for jolly feasting comprehended in the term "spon- 
duliks." The midday rest at the wayside spring or brook were 
occasions of lively enjoyment, and Swift was the chief contributor. 
His humorous travesty of the Lady of the Lake, served many a 
circuit campaign, and his audacious handling of Greek Mythology 
is preserved in the memory of his surviving associates. Swift 
presents an instance, not uncommon where the humorous faculty 
is made to overshadow the greater powers. His imitations, his 
jokes and sallies, are remembered by the many, while the serious 
displays of his fine powers are preserved by few. It is a matter 
of surprise that this remarkable man was not more widely known 
and appreciated. He lacked the spur of ambition, and gave up 
too much to the enjoyment of the moment. It is a melancholy 
reflection, that when his name is mentioned, there comes to the 
lips the words of Hamlet, "I knew him, Horatio, a fellow of in- 
finite jest, of a most excellent fancy." Nevertheless his humor, 
fine as it was, was but the superfluity of a capacious, strong and 
exquisitely toned mind. 

In the medical profession were Drs. Pendleton, John Gart- 
man, Jeremiah Daily, J. K. Strather, H. C. Garner, E. J. Bo wen, 
Neal Smith, W. C. May, W. M. May and S. H. Brown ^, later E. 
T. Hudnall, G. A. Teunisson and S. D. Muse. 

The Monticello Academ}^ was incorporated in 1836, and its 
first teacher was the late John E. McNair, afterwards circuit 
judge of great popularity. 

The Congressional Conventions that nominated A. G. Brown, 
John A. Quitman and Wiley P. Harris were held at Monticello. 



516 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 



The town of Monticello has turuished two Governors, one Sec- 
retary of State, one Auditor, one member of Congress, two Cir- 
cuit Judges, and three District Attorneys. 

The principal streams are Pearl and Fair rivers. Crooked, Sil- 
ver, White Sand, Greens, Bahala, Halls, Coopers, Tilton and Top- 
isaw creeks. 

The bottom lands are fertile, and the hills with good cultiva- 
tion, give generous crops. 

Total acreage, 414,882; cleared and uncleared, or average value, 
not reported to Auditor. 

The population of this county as shown by the census report 
of 1890 : Whites, 6,236 ; colored, 6,082 ; total 12,318. 
Senators. 

1820 Howell W. Runnels. 

1 82 1 Howell W. Runnels. 

1822 Thomas Anderson. 

1823 Wm. Herbert. 

1825 Charles Lynch. 

1826 Charles Lynch. 

1827 Charles Lynch. 

1828 Charles Lynch. 

1829 Joseph Cooper. 

1830 Joseph Cooper. 

1831 A. M. Keegan. 
1833 Charles Lynch. 
1835 Richard A. Hargis. 
1836 

i837-'38 Harmon Runnels. 
i84a-'4i Arthur Smith. 
i842-'43 Arthur Fox. 
1844 Arthur Fox. 
1846 Arthur Fox. 
i848-'49 Wm. A. Stone. 
1852 Wm. A. Stone. 
1854 E. C. Stuart. 
i856-'57 Wm A. Stone. 

1858 Wm. A. Stone. 

1859 J. B Chrisman. 
i86o-'6i-'62 J. B Chrisman. 
1865 W. F. Cain. 
i866-'67 W. F. Cain. 
i870-'7i John Gartman. 
i872-'73 H. Cassedy, Jr. 
1874 H Cassedy, Jr. 
i874-'75 J- F Sessions. 
i876-'77 R. H. Thompson. 
i878 R. H. Thompson. 
1S80 A. H. Longino. 
1882 A. H. Longino. 
1884 Thos. A. Dickson. 
1886 Thos. A. Dickson, Geo. S. 

Dodds. 
1888 Alex. Fairly, G. S. Dodds. 
1890 Alex. Fairly, G. S. Dodds. 



Representatives. 

Harmon Runnels, Joseph Cooper. 
Thomas Anderson, Arthur Fox. 
Harmon Runnels, Joseph Cooper, B. H. 

Jayne. 
Harmon Runnels, Arthur Fox, Joseph 

Cooper, J. H. Bull, J. Winburn. 
Joseph Cooper, J. Tomkinson, J. H. Bull. 
Harmon Runnels, Joseph Cooper, R. Collins. 
Joseph Cooper, Anthony Butler. 

Runnels. 

Walter W. New, A. M. Keegan. 
Walter W. New, Arthur Fox. 
Samuel Benson, Geo. Granberry. 
A. M. Keegan. 

A. M. Keegan. 

W. Weathersby, J. W. Pendleton. 
Samuel Jayne, Arthur Fox, 
Arthur Fox, T. Y. Grinstead. 
James M. Turner. 

B. C. Buckley, M. H. Smith. 

J. R. Chambers, W. Weathersby. 
Wm. Weathersby. 
J. B. Chrisman. 
Hiram Bonner. 

C. H. Fox. 
Hiram Bonner. 
Isaac Newton. 
H, Hooker. 
H. Medearis. 
Hiram Bonner. 
George Charles.^ 
Simeon Ross. 

E. O. Cowart. 
E, O. Cowart. 
H. J. Byrd. 
H. J. Byrd. 
G. A. Teunisson. 
Samuel Hickman. 
C. R. Dale. 
C R. Dale. 

G. A. Teunisson. 
Archie Fairly. 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 517 

LAUDERDALE COUNTS 

Was eptablished December 23d, 1833, and was named for Col. 
Lauderdale who fell at the battle of New Orleans. By an act 
of the Legislature, passed two daj^s later, Samuel Grayson, Asa 
Hartfield, Robert James, Wm. Ellis, H. W. Ward, Henry Hale, 
Geo. Evans, C. Dyer, N. Martin and J. Bidevell were appointed 
commissioners to organize the county. 

Among the early settlers were Matthew Alexander and Cnl- 
breath Edward Harper, each of whom brought with them a 
large family of sons and daughters; Duncan Calhoun, Jacob 
Worthington and his sons, H. B., Samuel, W. B. and Jacob Worth- 
ington ; Isom Pace, who was the first sheriff of the county; 
John Culbreath, who was the first circuit clerk ; John Wm. 
Pleasant and Peter Henderson. One of the first, if not the 
very first settler of the county, was General Sam Dale who 
is known in history as the hero of the canoe fight with In- 
dians on the Alabama river. He settled the place which has al- 
ways been and is now known as Daleville. He was also the 
first Representative of the county. Musander Cain, who settled 
Magnolia, at which place one or two terms of court were held, 
but' not a trace of the town now remains ; the late W. M. 
Hancock, who represented the county nearly half a century ago, 
and was Judge of the circuit court for eighteen years. Soon 
after the organization of the county John R. Walker came from 
North Carolina; he was the father of Joel P. Walker who 
represented Lauderdale in the Legislature twenty-six years ago, 
and who has been twice a State Senator from the county. 

Among the early settlers still living are J. P. Welch, B. F. 
Collier, Con. Bell, T. J. Miller, Rev. Mr. Camp, Dr. J. E. Knott, 
David Culpepper, E. J. Rew, B. O. Allen, N. M. Collins, D. C. 
Smith, D. Rosenbaum, W. F. Brown. J. R. Bungard, W. F. Al- 
ford, Caleb McLemore, Henry F. Alexander^ Dr. J. G. Knox, 
T. S. Pigford, S. M. Bailey, Nelson Moon, Chas. Butchee, McRae 
Mosby, Louis Bailey, Jas. L. Simmons, W. J. Walker, T. S. Mos- 
ley, Lott Parker and John H. Cochran. 

The towns in the county are Marion, which was the county 
site until 1866, when the court-house was removed to Marion 
Station, and from there in 1870 to Meridian, the second largest 
city in Mississippi. Its location, factories, cotton compress, etc., 
give it an extensive trade from adjoining counties, and make it 
a city of large commercial importance. The late L. A. Rags- 
dale and John T. Ball were the fortunate owners of the greater 



518 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 



portion of the land upon which the city of Meridian now 
stands. It location and growth, and it having become a great 
railroad center, made each of the gentlemen mentioned quite 
wealthy. Lockhart, Lauderdale Station, situated near old Lau- 
derdale Springs, that was before the war a popular health and 
pleasure resort; Toomsuba and Daleville. 

The principal streams are Okatibbee, Chunky, Chickasahay, 
Sowashee, Alamutcha, Tallahatta and Ponta Creeks. 

The railroads in the county are the Mobile & Ohio, the Ala- 
bama & Vicksburg, the Northeastern and the Alabama Great 
Southern. The city of Meridian is at the junction of these 
several railroads. 

There are in Lauderdale county 102,029 acres of cleared land j 
average value per acre, $5.75 ; total value, including incorpora- 
ted towns, $3,667,573. 

The population of this county, as shown by the census report 
of 1890: Whites, 14,509 j colored, 15,134 j total 29,643. 



Senators. 

1835 
1836 

1837 Joseph A. Marshall. 

1838 Joseph A. Marshall. 

1839 Ephriam Smith. 
l840-'4i Joseph A. Marshall. 
i842-'43 Joseph A. Marshall, 
1844 Emanuel A. Durr. 
1846 Emanuel A. Dun. 
1848 W. P. Carter. 

1850 W. P. Carter. 
1852 S. L. Hussey. 
1854 Jas. J. Monroe. 
i856-'57 C. G. Miller. 
1858 C. G. Miller. 
i859-'6o-'6i Wm. Thames. 
1861-62 Wm. Thames. 
1865 Robert Leachman. 
i866-'67 J. W. Brooks. 
i87o-'7i Robert E. Leachman. 
i852-'73 S. A. D. Steele. 
i874-'75 ^- A. D. Steele. 
i876-'77 John W. Fewell. 
1878 John W. Fewell. 
1880 L. B Brown. 
1882 L. B. Brown. 
1884 Joel P. Walker.. 
1886 Joel P. Walker, 

1888 Joel P. Walker. 

1890 Joel P. Walker. 



Representatives, 

Samuel Dale. 

Samuel Dale. 

Samuel Dale. 

Epps R Brown. 

Epps R. Brown. 

Peter Marsh. 

W. M, Hancock, 

S. L. Hussey, W. M. Hancock. 

W. C. Foster, J, Martin. 

Benjamin Carroll, O. G. Clayton. 

J. M, Trussell, J. D. Crews. 

John R. Mci.aurin, W. S, Patton. 

John R. McLaurin, Gieen C. Chandler, 

W. J. House. 

T. L. Tolson, W, W. Hall. 

J. L. Tolson, W. W, Hall. 

F. Semmes. 

J. P. Walker, W. G. Grace. - 

J P. Walker, W, G. Grace. 

W. B. Snowden, J. A. Moore. 

Duncan Kelly, A. H. S.iiith. 

Baylor Palmer, W.C. Ford, 

Edward Watkins, Hardy C. Dear. 

M, H. Whitaker, C. W. Gallagher. 

R. P. Walker, J. R. McLaurin. 

Thos H. Woods, H. D. Cameron. 

J. E. Bell, H. D. Cameron, W. L. Evans. 

G. H. Shamburger, J. H. Culpepper, W. L. 

Evans. 
J. P, Keeton, R. H. Whitfield, A. F. Mc- 

Gee. 
H. M. Street, W. R. Denton, W. D. Wither- 

spoon. 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 519> 

LEAKE COUNTY 

Was established December 23d, 1833, and so named in honor of 
Grovernor Walter Leake, and by an act of the Legislature, ap- 
proved December 25th, 1833, James Prewett, Joshua J. Parker, 
John M. Elder, Wm. H. Bole and Achiles Walton were appointed 
commissioners to organize the county. 

Among the first settlers were Benjamin Johnson, Samuel Rich- 
mond, Henry Harper, C. C Arnett ; the two latter were the first 
representatives in the Legislature; the Freeneys, the Groves, one 
of whom was the father of Hon. Pres G-roves, who represented 
the county in the State Senate in 1888 and 1890 ; Major Hall, a 
gentleman of high character, liberal culture and fine address, 
who represented the county in the Legislature, the father of 
Guion Q. Hall, a most excellent lawyer now residing in the city 
of Meridian. Col. Jos. D. Eades, a lawyer, still residing at Car- 
thage, the county site; the Hansons, Williams, George S. Phil- 
ter, who was a member of the Legislatui'e for two terms, the 
Collins, Hoopers, B. T. Watkins, who represented the county in 
the Legislature, the Sparkmans, Lewis, John D. Boyd, who rep- 
resented the county in both branches of the Legislature ; the 
Beemans, one of whom was the father of Hon. Joseph H. Bee- 
man, now a resident of Scott count}', which he has represented 
several times in the Legislature, and recently elected to Congress 
from the district in which he resides ; Maston Crane, H. Q. 
Rawles, both of whom were Representatives in the Legislature. 

The towns in the county are Carthage, the county site, a pros- 
perous village with an intelligent population, Ofahoma, Thomas- 
town, Edinburgh, St. Anns, Good Hope, Lena, Grove and Mad- 
den. 

The principal streams in the county are Pearl river, Tuscala- 
meter, Standing Pine, Yokanookany and Labutha creeks. 

The Natchez, Jackson and Columbus Railroad, when extended, 
will pass through the county. At present the facilities for trans- 
portation are confined to Pearl river and wagon roads. 

The county has 59,016 acres of cleared lands ; the average 
value of which, as rendered to the assessor, is $5.02 per acre; the 
total value including incorporated towns, is $296,625.00. 

The population of Leake county as shown by the census 
-report of 1890— whites, 9,325; colored, 5,043; total, 14,368. 
Senators. Representatives. 

1835 Henry Harper. 

1836 C. C. Arnett. 
'837-'38-'39 Gordon D. Boyd. George A. Fitler. 



520 



HISTORY OF MTRSISRIPPT. 



i840-'4i Samuel N. Gilleland. 

i842-'43 Samuel N. Gilleland. 

1844 John D. Boyd. 

1S46 George Hicks. 

1848 Henry Gray. 

1850 Samuel N. Gilleland. 

1852 George Pope. 

1854 George Pope. 

1856 Samuel N. Gdleland. 

1857 Samuel N. Gilleland. 

1858 T. L. Thompson. 
i859-'6o- 61 George Huie. 
i86i-'62 George Huie. 
i865-'66-'67 S. W. Land. 
i870-'7i W. S. Rushing. 
iS72-'73 James S. Smythe. 
1874 James S. Smythe. 
i874-'75 S. G. Henderson. 
i876-'77 S. T. Oldham. 
1878 S. T. Oldham. 

18S0 Thomas L. Cooper. 
1882 Thomas L. Cooper. 
1884 David T. Guy ton. 
1886 David T Guyton. 
1888 Pres Groves. 
1890 Pres Groves. 



B. T. Watkins. 
John D. Boyd, 

Maston Grain. 
W. M. Hail. 
H. S. Rawls. 
Robert E. Halford. 
H. S. Ravvles. 
W. C. Hall. 
T. P. Marion. 
R. J. Hall. 
R. J. Hall. 
R. A. Harris. 

Hanson. . 

H. W. Warren. 

Ephriam H. Jones. 

J. N. Denson. 

J. N. Denson. 

J. N. Denson. 

Thomas L. Cooper. 

J. M. Hardin. 

T. J. Saunders. 

J. M. Hardin, J. H. Reagan. 

Pres Groves, U. L. Roberts. 

E. D. Terry, J. R. Pace. 

E. D. Terry, U. L. Roberts. 



LEE COUNTY 

Was established October 26th, 1866, and named for the great 
Confederate soldier, General Eobert E. Lee. It was carved from 
the counties of Itawamba and Pontotoc ; therefore, the record and 
list of pioneers mentioned in those counties embrace a great 
number who were residents of what is now Lee county, among 
whom may be mentioned Col. Jeptha Eobbins, an old and highly 
esteemed citizen ; Captain S. J. High, Captain Henry Metts, 
Col. Eichard C. Clarke, a prominent citizen and now a banker 
at Tupelo; John M. Simonton, who was colonel of an in- 
fantry regiment during the war, and since the establishment of 
the countj'^ has twice represented it in the State Senate, and 
was a member of the Constitutional Convention of 1890. The 
names of others will be recognized b}^ reference to the counties 
mentioned. 

The towns in the county are Tupelo, the county site, a pros- 
perous and progressive place, with excellent church and educa- 
tional advantages ; Verona, Shannon, Saltillo, (juntown, Bald- 
wyn, Plantersville and Leighton. 

The streams are Bogue Folia, Chippawa, Mud, Coonewa. 
Okalilla, Yannoba, Mantubba, Old Town, Twenty-Mile and Tu- 
lip Creeks. 



HISTOTiY OF MISSISSIPPI. 



521 



The railroads in the county are the Mobile & Ohio and the 
Kansas City, Memphis & Birmingham. Tupelo is situated at 
the junction of these two roads, and the country contiguous to it 
is fertile and productive. 

The number of acres of cleared land in Lee is 136,875 ; but 
the average value per acre is not in the Auditor s office, nor can 
it be ascertained from any accessible records. 

The population as shown by the census report of 1890 : Whites, 
12,341 ; colored, 7,699; total, 20,040. 



Senators. 
i870-'7i W. T. Stricklin. 
i872-'73 R. H. Allen. 
i874-'75 R. H. Allen. 
i876-'77 R. H. Allen. 
1878 R. H. Allen. 
1880 David Johnson. 
1882 David Johnson. 
1884 R. O. Reynolds, John M. 

Simonton. 
1886 R. O. Reynolds, John M. J. M. Hoyle, L. J. Rhodes. 

Simonton. 
1888 J. C. Burdine, J. L. Tur- O. L. Kennedy, R. L. Shannon. 

nage 
1890 J. C. Burdine, J. L. Tur- Jas. L. Gillespie, T. A. Boggan. 

nage. 



Representatives. 
Jas. F. Nabers. 
T. M. Goar, R. M Leavell. 
W. H. H. Tison, J. M. Eckford. 
Merriman Pound, W. H. H. Tison. 
Jas. M. Hoyle, W. H. H. Tison. 
S. M Taylor, A. G. Harkreader. 
W. H. H. Tison, John A. Blair. 
J. M. Hoyle, Merriman Pound. 



CHAPTER XXIX. 



LEFLOKE COUNTY 

WAS established in 1871, and being carved out of Sunflower 
and Carroll, some of the early settlers mentioned in those 
two counties resided in the territory now constituting Leflore. 

The county and county site, Greenwood, was named for the 
distinguished Chief of the Choctaws, Greenwood Leflore. 

In addition to the county site, are Sidon, Ittabena, Shell 
Mound, Sunny Side, Minter City, Eed Cross, Old McNutt and 
Rising Sun. 

The principal streams are Yazoo river, that runs very nearly 
through the centre of the county, Quiver river, Roe Buck Lake, 
Blue, Henry, McNutt and Six Mile lakes, and a number of smaller 
lakes. 

The railroads in the county are, the Georgia Pacific and a 
branch of the Illinois Central. 

The county site is one of the progressive and growing towns 
of the State. Its facilities for transportation are the Yazoo 
river and two railroads. 

The lands are unsurpassed in fertility and are being rapidlj- 
developed. 

Hon. Stephen Johnson was the first Senator from the county 
and D. M. Quin the first Representative. 

There are in the county 60,037 acres of cleared land; the value 
of which per acre, as rendered to the assessor, $16.76. The 
total value of cleared lands, including incorporated towns, is 
$1,220,244. 

The population of the county as shown by the census report 

of 1890— whites, 2,450; colored, 14,414; total, 16,864. 

Senators. Representatives. 

i872-'73 Stephen Johnson. D. N. Quin. 

1874 W. H. Parker. J W. Randolph. 

1874-75 M. H. Tuttle J. W. Randolph. 

i876-'77 M. H. Tuttle. Wm. H. Mallory. 

1878 W. D. Peery. G. A. McLean. 

1880 W. D. Peery. Enos Rogers. 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 523 



1882 Jas. M. Liddell. Enos Rogers. 

1884 "[as. M. Liddell. IX T. Mitchell. 

1886 Tas. R. Binford. I. P Henry. 

1888 Jas. R. Binford. W. S. Barry. 

1890 L. M. Soulhworth. J. K. Vardaman. 



LINCOLN COUNTY 

Was established April 7th, 1870, carved mainly from the counties 
of Lawrence and Franklin, and the record of names of the 
earlj' settlers of those two counties, embrace many that reside in 
the territory of what is now Lincoln. 

This county is noted for its church and educational advantages. 
Aside from the common and high schools in the county, is Whit- 
worth Female College, which is properly classed among the 
most flourishing institutions in the South. The county site, 
Brookhaven, where this College is located, is a pleasant, pros- 
perous town, the home of a cultured and refined community. 

The towns in the county other than the county site, are 
Montgomery, Bogue Chitto and Caseyville. 

The streams are the Bogue Chitto, Amite, Fair, Homochitto, 
and Bast and West Baj'ou Pierre rivers. 

The Illinois Central Railroad traverses the county from north 
to south. 

Lincoln county has 57,037 acres of cleared land; average value 
per acre, 6.47. Total value, including incorporated towns, $649,- 
524. 

The population of the county as shown by the census report of 

1890: Whites, 10,216; colored, 7,696; total, 17,912. 

Senators. Represe.ntaiives. 

1872-73-74 Hiram Cassedy, Jr. R. R. Applewhite. 

1874-75 J. F. Sessions. R. R. Applewhite. 

1876-77 R. H. Thompson. A. C. McNair, James E. Jagers. 

1878 R. H. Thompson. R. R. Applewhite, E. L. Tarver. 

1880 A. H. Longino. R. R. Applewhite B. F. Johns. 

1882 A. H. Longino. V. B Watts, C. Byrd. 

1884 Samuel E Packwood. V B. Wans, R. R. Applewhite. 

1886 Samuel E. Packwood. V. B. Watts, J. P Wise. 

1888 Theo. B. Fcrd. J. B Deason, J. T Whitne>. 

1890 Theo. B. Ford. T- A. J. Hart, R" R. Applewhite. 



LOWNDES COUNTY 

Was established in January, 1830, and named in honor of the 
late William Lowndes. 



524 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

The act creating the county appointed Samuel Lauderdale^ 
Wra. H. Craven, Charles H. Abert, Greorge Grood, Titus Howard; 
Edward B. Eandolph and Henry Greer, Sr., commissioners, 
charged with the duty of locating a permanent site for the 
seat of justice of the county. The same act provided for the 
holding of the probate, county and circuit courts at the town 
of Columbus until the courthouse at the permanent county 
site should be erected. The first house erected where the 
city of Columbus now stands, was a log cabin in 1817, by 
Thomas Moore. It was, however, two years later before there 
was any town. In the meantime, Thomas Sampson, who sub- 
sequently served as probate judge, William Viser, S. Eoach, 
William Poe, Silas M. McBee and others came to the place, and 
at a meeting of the citizens, at the suggestion of Mr. McBee, the 
place was given the name of Columbus. About the same time 
Thomas Townsend, Green Bailey, Dr. B. C. Berry, Silas Brown, 
Hancock Chisholm, Wm. Connover, William Furnandes and 
others became citizens of the place. In the latter part of the 
year 1819, Townsend and Bailey, Gid Linsecum, Wm. Vizer and 
R. C. Haden opened stores in Columbus. Gideon Linsecum was 
the first postmaster, having been appointed in 1821. The town' 
was incorporated in 1822 with William S. Moore as Mayor. 

Among the early settlers were Kiehard Barry, the father of 
Col. Wm. S. Barry, who represented the county and was Speaker 
of the House of Representatives, and president of the Secession 
Convention of 1861, and colonel of the Thirty-Fifth Mississippi 
Regiment during the late war; B. F. Beckwith, C. E. Leech, 
Geo. W. Sanders, Joseph Boschell, an intelligent and bright jour- 
nalist, who was lamed for life in a duel with Hon. Volney E. 
Howard,; the Rev. Geo. Shaeffer, a Methodist minister; Nimrod 
N. Davis, James Brownlee, John T. Council, Dr. W. Hum- 
phries, the father of Captain W, W. Humphries, who served 
the county with distinction as State Senator, and now one of the 
leading lawyers of the city of Columbus; A. S. Humphries, 
who accumulated a large fortune and has numerous descendants 
in that vicinity ; Captain M. W. Neilson, of the United States 
army ; Captain Edward B. Randolph, of the United States 
navy. A little later came John A. Borders, John Ledbetter, 
John Dally, Wm. Weaver, John Gilmer, Dunstan Banks, a 
wealthy planter, the father of that genial gentleman and jour- 
nalist. Captain Robert W. Banks, now of the city of Meridian ; Ma- 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 525 

jor T. G. Blewett, the father-in-law of Hon. Jas. T. Harrison ; 
John Morgan, Jas. Pronell. 

Among the early physicians were Dr. S. B. Malone, Gideon 
Linsecum, and Dabney Lipscomb. 

About 1835 or 1836 came the late Hon. Jas. T. Harrison, one 
of Mississippi's most distinguished lawyers. Upon his first ap- 
pearance at the bar he was by his professional brethren regarded 
learned, accurate and able. His reputation grew with years, 
and before he reached the meridian of life he was considered 
among the foremost lawyers of the commonwealth. He was 
elected to the Confederate Congress, and after the cessation of 
hostilities in 1865, elected to the United States Congress, but 
with the other representatives of the State at that date was 
denied his seat. He left sons and daughters. His son, Hon. 
Jas. T., who bears his name, a lawyer by profession, has twice 
represented the county in the Legislature, and is the senior 
member of the excellent law firm of Harrison & Landrum. The 
eldest daughter of Mr. Harrison, an accomplished and brilliant 
woman, is the wife of General Stephen D. Lee. Tilghman M. 
Tucker, who represented the county in the Legislature and was 
Governor of the State in 1842. He was the father-in-law of 
Hon. William McWillie, of Madison county. Hon George E. 
Clayton, who served as Circuit Judge in the district in which he 
resided, was at one time the Whig nominee for Governor, and a 
member of the Secession Convention of 1861 ; Dr. S. S. Frank- 
lin, who was a graduate of Yale College and also a graduate 
in medicine. He was the father of Thomas B. and C. S. Frank- 
lin, now merchants in the city of Columbus. W. L. Cozart, 
Thomas C. Billups, the father of Majors John S., Joseph, 
Carleton and General Saunders Billups, the latter a brigadier 
general of National Guards, all of whom are men of integ- 
rity and highly respected ; Harrison Johnston, a man of en- 
terprise and strength of character. He is the founder of the 
cotton factory at Columbus, which will increase the popula- 
tion of the city, and promises to be a profitable investment. 
John Moore, James I. Moore, James Whitfield, at one time State 
Senator, and by reason of his being President of the Senate, suc- 
ceeded to the Governorship occasioned bj^the resignation of Gov- 
ernor John A. Quitman, and served as such for a short time ; 
Joseph B. Cobb, who served the count}^ as a member of the Leg- 
islature, and a gentleman of more than ordinary literary attain- 
ments; Hon. Wm. L. Harris, who served his judicial district as 



526 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

circuit judge, and was for a number of years Judge of the High 
Court of Errors and Appeals j Col. Hunter Sharp, the father of 
Gen. Jacob H. Sharp, who has twice represented Lowndes county 
in the Legislature, one term Speaker of the House, and was a Brig. 
adier-General in the Confederate army • Richard Evans, a distin- 
guished lawyer, and at one time a member of the Legislature, 
the father of Geo. A. Evans, who, like his father, is a lawyer of 
ability, now of the firm of Arnold & Evans, of Birmingham ; 
Richard Evans was also the father-in-law of Col. W. C. Richards, 
a gentleman widely known in business circles, and was a member 
of the Constitutional Convention of 1890 ; General Peter B. 
Starke served for a number of terms in both branches of the 
State Legislature, and prior to the war was one of the nominees 
of the Whig party for Congress, was a Brigadier-General com- 
manding cavalry during the war ; Col. Argyle Campbell, a law- 
yer, and the father of Mrs. Dr. S. S. Franklin and Arthur Jj. 
Campbell -, General Jeptha Y. Harris, who commanded a brigade 
of State troops during the seige of Vicksburg ; Jas. W. Harris, 
Geo. E. Harris, who were brothers of Judge Wm.L., and General^ 
Jeptha Y. Harris ; Thos. W. Harris, who was judge of the pro- 
bate court, the father of the late Col. Thos. W. Warris, a lawyer of 
most excellent ability, and the father-in-law of Gen. W. S. Feather- 
ston, of the city of Holly Springs ; Benjamin Long, Dr. Thos. 
Jones, Dr. Spiliman, Henly S. Bennett, who was circuit judge of 
that judicial district, and subsequently a member of Congress • 
Edward C. McEwen, Eli Abbott, Capt. Chas. Abert, who organ- 
ized in 1837, the militar}" company known then, as now, as the 
Columbus Riflemen ; W. W. Wade, Neil Bartee, Hardy Stevens, 
John A. Franklin, Chas. McClaren, C. R. Crusoe, Esq., a lawyer 
of intelligence, and for a long time partner of Jas. T. Harrison j 
Judge Nat Goodwin, Dr. Robert F. Matthews, a prominent ph}"- 
sician and accomplished gentlemen; Beverly Matthews^ Esq., a 
man of large brain, an intelligent lawyer, who served as Adju- 
tant of the Second Mississippi regiment in Mexico ; John Brown- 
rigg, father of Dr. John Brownrigg, who was a Brigade Surgeon 
in the Confederate army, and now a prominent physician of the 
city of Columbus ; Col. Jas. O. Banks, a gentleman widely known 
in business affairs ; Andrew Weir, of the Commercial Bank, and 
W. B. Winston, of Planter's Bank ; Henry Buchanan, J. B. Ervin, 
and G. Frazee, who were merchants ; Hon. A. Murdock, who was 
several times a member of the Legislature from the county, and 
for a number of years President of the Mobile & Ohio Railroad, a 
gentleman of large information, full of energy and enterprise. 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 



527 



The county site, Columbus, is regarded as one of the handsom- 
est little cities in the southern country. It has fine schools, at- 
tractive church buildings, and a remarkably intelligent popula- 
tion. 

There are several villages in the county — Crawford, Ai'tesia 
and Caledonia. 

The principal streams are Tombigbee river, Buttahatchie and 
Luxapalila Creeks. 

The railroads are the Mobile & Ohio, with a branch road from 
Artesia to Columbus, and the G-eorgia Pacific. 

The county embraces a great deal of rich prairie lands that 
are regarded as productive and verj' valuable, 

Lowndes county has 196,671 acres of cleared land ; average 
value of which, as rendered to the assessor, $11.92 per acre; to- 
tal value of cleared lands, including incorporated towns and 
cities, $2,533,526. 

•The population of this county, as shown by the census report 
of 1890 : Whites, 5,940 ; colored, 21,105 ; total, 27,045. 



Senators. 

183 1 Jas. F. Trotter. 
1833 Geo. Higgason. 
1S35 Stephen Cocke. 

1836 Stephen Cocke. 

1837 Stephen Cocke. 

1838 Tilghman M. Tucker. 

1839 Tilghman M. Tucker. 

1840 Tilghman M. Tucker. 

1841 Tilghman M. Tucker. 

1842 Jesse Speight, Arthur Fox. 

1843 Jesse Speight, Arthur Fox. 

1844 Jesse Speight. 

1846 Dabney Lipscomb. 
1848 Dabney Lipscomb. 
1850 Dabney L'pscomb, 
1852 James Whitfield. 
1854 Joseph B. Cobb. 
1856 Joseph B. Cobb. 
1857. J. M, Witherspoon. 
1858 J. V. Harris. 
i859-'6o-'6i J. V. Harris. 
i86i-'62 Moses Jordan. 
i865-'66-'67 C. F. Miller. 

1870 Chas. A. Sullivan, Robert 

Gleed. 

1871 Chas. A. Sullivan, Robert 

Gleed. 

i872-'73 Chas. A. Sullivan, Rob- 
ert Gleed 

1S74 Chas. A. Sullivan, Robert 
Gleed. 



Representatives. 

Tilghman M. Tucker. 

Tilghman M . Tucker. 

Tilghman M. Tucker. 

A. N. Jones, W. G. Wright, A. B. Dearing. 

A. N. Jones, W. G. Wright. 

Samuel Butler, John Gilmer, W. G. Wright. 

John Gilmer, W. G. Wright, Seth Peebles. 

J. Speight, R Evans, T. B. Billups. 

Jos. S. Leake, R. Evans, T. C. Billups. 

J. T. Connell. Jas. Whitfield. 

J. T. Connell, Jas. Whitfield. 

J. T. Connell, J. Whitfield, A. A. Kincan^ 
non. 

T. T. Connell, Jas. Whitfield, 

"E. Abbott, Jas Whitfield, J. T. Connell. 

A. K. Blythe, C. R. Crusoe, Geo. H. Young. 

John Seal, C. R. Crusoe, Wm P. Jack. 

Thos. J. Sharp, W. B. Wade, John Seal. 

T. C. Billups W. S. Barry. 

T. C. Billups, W. S. Barry, L. F. Carrington, 

J. Whitfield, T. C. Billups, B. Mathews. 

Bev. Mathews, T- M. L. Smith. 

Jos. P. Billups, J. M L. Smith. 

A. Murdock, Jas. M. Arnold. 

L. A. Munson, H. W. Lewis, J. F. Boulden, 

H. B. Gegan. 
J.'F Boulden, H. B. Gegan, L. A. Munson, 

H. W. Lewis. 
Chas. Mauss, R M D. Feemster, D. Bren- 
nen. D. McCawlev. 

R. M. D. Feemster, J.' H. Glenn, Robert 
Thom]ison. 



528 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

1875 N. B. Bridges. R. M. D. Feemster, J. K. Glenn, Robeii. 

Thompson. 

i876-'77 W. H. Sims, F. G. E. A. Erwin, J. E. Leigh, J. C. Neilson. 
Barry. 

1878 S D. Lee. J. H. Field, A. ]. Ervin, J. C. Neilson. 

1880 Wm. W. Humphries J. H. Field, A. j. Ervin, W A. Harris. 

1882 Wm. W. Humphries. J. H. Field, A. J. Ervin, A. L. Myers. 

1884 E. T. Sykes. Jas. T. Harrison, W. H. Cook, A. L. Mi ers. 

1886 E. T. Sykes. Jas. T. Harrison, J. H. Sharp, J. H. Sim- 

mons. 

1888 Jas. C. Neilson. . J. H. Sharp, M. U. Burke, J. H. Simmons. 

1890 Jas. C. Neilson. J. H. Sharp, T. B. Bradford, L. D. Landrum. 



MADISON COUNTY 

Was established January 29th, 1828, out of all that portion of 
Yazoo county lying east of Big Black River, and was named in 
honor of President Madison. 

Josiah R, Doak, Robert Carson^ Sr., John P. Thompson, Wm. 
Wilson, and Archibald McGehee were appointed comraissioner.s 
to select a site for the erection of public buildings in said county, 
and contract for the building of a court-house and jail. 

On the 26th of January, 1829, an act was passed providing for 
the election of five commissioners to select a site for the seat of 
justice for the county. The eighth section of the act provided 
that the several courts of the county should continue to be held 
at Beaty's Bluff until the court-house directed to be built by the 
act was finished. The thirteenth section declared that the seat 
of justice when selected as directed by the commissioners, should 
be known and called Livingston. 

Subsequently the county site was changed to what is now Can- 
ton, Avhich is the geographical center of the county. When the 
site was chosen it was a part of the plantation of one C. Walton. 

Among the early settlers of the county were James Simpson, 
Peyton Sutherland, William and Peter Finley, Wm. Shaw, Gr. 
W. Henderson, Samuel F. Feamster, John Stone, Jr., Jesse Per- 
kins, Montfort Jones, R. McCord Williamson, John S. Cameron, 
father of Hon. John R. Cameron, who has represented the count}" 
in both branches of the Legislature, and received a warm sup- 
port in 1889 for the nomination of Grovernor ; T. C. Tupper, 
Jesse Heard, Benjamin Chambers, W. F. Walker, W. J. Hill. 
Charles Clifton, John R. Herbert, Geo. Robertson, Stiles W. 
Ewing, Daniel Rice, John A. Pugh, Benjamin S. Ricks, the fath- 
er of .General Benjamin S. Ricks of Yazoo and Wm. Ricks, of 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 52d 

Madison j Wm. Eoyce, Wm. L. Balfour, O. J. E. Stewart, L- 
Campbell, Eli Montgomery, the lamily of Thomas, J. Silverberg, 
John Mutz, Kearneys, Wm. Montgomery, J. S. Gooch. 

Among the early members of the bar were John A. Rollins, 
General T. C. Tupper, who was a Major- General of State troops 
during the late war, and the father-in-law of Hon. Robt. Powell, 
who has served the county in the Legislature, and is among the 
leading members of the bar of Canton ; Hon. O. R. Singleton, 
referred to elsewhere ; Alexander H. Handy, who was elected 
one of the Judges of the Supreme Court, and who was for a 
nu7nber of years its Chief Justice ; John Handy, Esq., an accu- 
rate and learned lawyer, who is the survivor of nearly all of his 
early professional brethren of the Madison bar; Hugh Lawson, 
Oliver A. Luckett, who served the county as State Senator ; 
A. P. Hill, father of the present chief magistrate of the city of 
Canton; M. B. McMicken, Mitchell Calhoon, the father of Judge 
S. S. Calhoon, of the city of Jackson, and Hon. John Calhoon, 
former Representative from Marshall county, and more recently 
Mayor of the city of Holly Springs ; Judge Calhoon served, 
most acceptably as District Attorney and Circuit Judge of the 
Judicial District in which he resided ; the latter position he re- 
signed, and resumed the practice of his profession ; he was elect- 
ed President of the Constitutional Convention of 1890; General 
Patrick Henry, who represented the county in the Legislature, 
the father of Capt. B. W. and the late Doctor E. T. Henry of 
Vicksburg, also of Major Patrick Henry, who has twice repre- 
sented Rankin county in the Legislature, and a delegate from the 
State at large to the Constitutional Convention of 1890; also the 
father of Wm. Henry, the present Mayor of Jackson and Adju- 
tant-General of the State; also the grandfather of Pat Henry, 
Senator from Warren county. 

The early physicians were Dr. Thomas J. Catchings, distin- 
guished in his profession, who served with marked ability in both 
branches of the Legislature, and the father of Hon. Thomas C. 
Catchings, a learned and able lawyer, who served as State Sena- 
tor, two terms as Attorney-General of Mississippi, and three 
terms as a member of the Federal Congres ; Dr. James Priestly, 
father of Dr. Chas. S. Priestly, a prominent physician of Can- 
ton, and of Thomas M., William and James Priestly ; Thos. M. 
was sheriff of Madison for a number of years; Dr. Harvey, 
father of Captain Addison Harvey, the commander of the famous 
Harvey Scouts, and Hon. Geo. Harvey, former State Senator 
34 



530 HISTORY OK MISSISSIPPI. 

from Madison county; Dr. Towler, Dr. Simms, who is still a 
leading physician of Canton; Dr. Phillips, Dr. Clanton, and the 
two Drs. Galloway. 

Dr. Charles B. Galloway was the father of the distinguished 
divine and beloved Bishop, jCharles B. Galloway, who at the 
time of his election was probably the youngest Methodist minis- 
ter over promoted to the high station he so worthily fills. As a 
pulpit orator and great preacher he stands, and deservedly so, 
among the foremost of his most gifted co-workers in the cause 
of the Great Master. 

The first road through what is now Madison county was cut 
hy the troops of General Jackson, prior to the battle of New 
Orleans, and long before the organization of the county. 

In an early day boats of one kind and another plying Big 
Black river were the only medium of communication of Madison 
county with the outer world. Boats came as high as Beaty's 
Bluff, where the log cabin court-house stood, and where the first 
court of the county was held, and brought such supplies as were 
needed by the early inhabitants, and carried off the surplus pro- 
ducts of the county. 

The first towns in the county were Runnelsville, Williams- 
burg, and Madisonville, all three of which are extinct; then 
followed Camden, Sharon, Livingston and Vernon, the latter two 
much dilapidated by time. Sharon at one time supported most 
excellent schools, but after the destruction of the school build- 
ings, prior to the war, by fire, they were never rebuilt, and as a 
consequence the place continued to go down. 

Canton, the county site, is eligibly located, and the public 
square very attractive. It has always held a prominent place in 
a commercial point of view, receiving a generous patronage from 
the surrounding country. The community comprising the town 
and vicinity is composed of intelligent, cultivated people. 

Madison Station and Flora are each thrifty and prosperous 
railroad towns that enjoy a good business. 

The principal streams are Big Black and Pearl rivers, the for- 
mer on the north-western boundary, and the latter on the south- 
eastern border. In addition are the Lime, Ash, Drakes, Tilda, 
Bogue, Bear, Persimmon and Hanging Moss Creeks. 

The railroads in the county are the Illinois Central, and the 
Yazoo and Mississippi Valley, the latter running from Jackson, 
via Yazoo City, to Greenwood in Leflore county. 

Madison county has 340,681 acres of cleared lands, more than 



HISTORY OB' MISSISSIPPI. 



581 



any county in the State except Hinds. The average assessed 
value per acre of the cleared lands is $5.71. Total value of 
cleared lands, including incorporated towns, $1,947,616; the un- 
cleared, $3.18 per acre. In addition to corn, cotton and small 
grain, may be mentioned the extensive cultivation of strawber- 
ries, notably at, and in the vicinity of Madison Station, which 
are shipped to Cincinnati, Chicago and otiier northern cities. 
The county is prosperous. 

The population of Madison as shown by the census report of 
1890: White, 6,024; colored, 21,297; total, 27,321. 

Senators. 
1829-30 Henry W. Vick. 
1 83 1 Thomas Land. 
1833 David Ford. 
iJ<35 Thomas Land. 
1836-37 David W. Haley. 
1838-39 David W. Haley. 
1840-41 Henry Phillips. 

1842 Robert Montgomery. 

1843 Robert Montgomery. 

1844 Robert Montgomery. 
1846 William R. Miles. 
1848-50 O. R. Singleton, 
1852 O. R. Singleton. 
1854 Wm. McWillie. 
1856-57 S. J. Denson. 
1858 S. J. Denson. 
1859-60-61 J. R. Davis. 
1861-62 O. A. Luckett. 
1865-66-67 Mathew Lyle. 
1870-71 Alex Warner. 



Representatives. 
James R. Marsh. 
C. B. Green. 
Andrew E. Beatie. 
David M. Fulton. 
David M. Fulton, H. Phillips. 
B. G. Marshall. 
H. H. Offutt, R. M. Williamson. 



1872-73-74-75 Alex Warner. 

1876 F. B. Pratt. 

1877 F. B. Pratt. 

1878 F. B. Pratt. 

1880 Thos. T, Singleton. 
1882 Robert C. Smith. 
1884 George Harvey. 
1886 George Harvey. 
1888 John R. Cameron. 
1890 John R. Cameron. 



H. A. H. Lawson. 

O. R. Singleton, P. D. Ewing. 

Samuel Ford, Patrick Henry. 

C. C. Shackleford, H. S. Mitchell. 

Oliver A. Luckett. 

John J. Cooper, R. C. Saunders. 

W. G. Kearney, James S. Reid. 

James S. Reid. 

James S. Reid. 

Thomas M. Griffin. 

W. B. Cunningham, J, M. Stroud, J. J. 
Spellman. 

Alfred Handy, J. M. Stone, J. J. Spellman. 

J. B. Yellowley, E. A. Stebbins, D. Jenkins. 

J. B. Yellowley, E. A. Stebbins, Adams 
Simpson. 

John R. Cameron, C. L. Gilmer, George Ed- 
wards. 

C. L. Gilmer, W. G. Kearney, J. W. Downs. 

L. F. Montgomery, Wm. Handy, M. Levy. 

S. W. Lewis, J. F. Henry. 

R. C. Lee, John Johnson. 

J. R. Childress, C. W. O'Leary, 

T. R. Childress, Robert PowelL 



MAEION COUNTY 

Was established December 9th, 1811, and was named in memory 
of General Francis Marion, of South Carolina. 

John Ford and Dugald McLaughlin were delegates to the Con- 
stitutional Convention of 1817, and the latter was also a delegate 
to the Constitutional Convention held in the city of Jackson in 
1832. 



532 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

Among the early settlers of the county were Stephen Poxworth 
Dugald McLaughlin, Benjamin Eawles, Wm. M. Eankin, John 
Ford, Ebenezer Ford, the latter the father of Gen. Thos. S. Ford, 
one of the most prominent lawyers in South Mississippi, who has 
represented the county in the Legislature, and served an unex- 
pired term as Attorney-General of the State, and was a mem- 
ber of the Constitutional Convention of 1890, from the State at 
large ; Ebenezer Ford was also the father of Dr. Theodore B. 
Ford, who has been a member of both branches of the Legisla- 
ture ; Fleet Magee, Solomon Lott, Hope H. Lenoir, Francis B, 
Lenoir, who represented the county in the Legislature; John H. 
Webb, Wm. Stovall, Chas. Stovall, who was a member of the 
Legislature ; Sampson Pope, Eichardson Pope, Jacky Magee, 
Benjamin Hammond, Wm. Lott, Wm. Lewis, Abraham Ard, 
Merry Bracey ; the two latter served the county in the Legisla- 
ture. 

Columbia, the county site, remained for many years the only 
town in the county. There are now in addition, Eichburg, Purvis 
and Piotona ; the three latter places are located on the North- 
Eastern Eailroad, and are growing rapidly. 

The principal streams in the county are Pearl river. Upper and 
Lower Little rivers, Blace, Silver and Ten-mile creeks. 

There ai'e some nine mills and gins in the county. 

There has been an increase of voters in the county within the 
last decade of not less than 85 per cent. 

Stovall Springs, situated three miles abovo Columbia, was 
many years ago a noted and much frequented watering place in 
South Mississippi. There was a large and well equipped hotel at 
the Springs, managed and conducted by Wm. Stovall, and prior 
to the building of the railroads through the southern part of the 
State was frequented by wealthy and fashionable people. 
Scarcely a vestige of the hotel now remains. 

There are about twenty-one miles of railroad in the countj'^. 

The number of acres of cleared land in the county, nor the value 
per acre could not be obtained from the records in Jackson or 
in the county. 

The population of Marion county as shown by the census re- 
port of 1890 : Whites, 6,478 ; colored, 3,054 ; total, 9,532. 

Senators. Representatives. 

i820-'2i David Dickson. Francis Lenoir. 

1822 William Spencer. Charles Stovall. 

1823 William Spencer. Abraham Ard. 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 



533 



i825-'26 Wiley P. Harris. 
1827 Wiley P. Harris. 
i828-'29 Wiley P. Harris. 

1830 David Cleaveland. 

1831 William C. Cage. 
1833 Franklin Love. 

1835 lessee Harper. 

1836 J. Y. McNabb. 

1838 Harmon Runnels. 

1839 Arthur Smith. 

1840 Arthur Smith. 
x84i-'42 Arthur Fox. 
i843-'44 Arthur Fox. 
1846 Arthur Fox. 
1848 ;V. A. Stone. 
i850-'52 \V. A. Stone. 
1854 E. C. Stewart. 
i856-'57-'58 Wm. A. Stone. 
i859-'6o-'6i William J. Rankin. 
l86i-'62 William J. Rankin. 
i865-'66-'67 John F. Smith. 
i870-'7i Jacob H. Seal. 
i872-'73 Jacob H. Seal. 
1874-75 T- P. Carter. 
l876-'77 J. P. Carter. 
i878-'8o J. P. Carter. 

1882 Elliott Henderson. 
1884 S. E Packwood. 
1886 S. E. Packwood. 
1888 Theo. B Ford. 
1890 Theo. B. Ford. 



Merry Bracey. 
Nathaniel Robbins. 
David Ford. 
William Lott. 
William M. Rankin. 
Charles D. Learned, 
Charles D. Learned. 
Fleet Magee. 
Benjamin B. Barnes. 
Alexander P. Black. 

McGowen. 

McGowen. 

McGowen. 

E. C. Stewart. 
E. C. Stewart. 
E. C. Stewart. 
William J. Rankin. 
William J. Rankin. 
W. H. Bishop. 
Harris Barnes. 
John T. Foxworth. • 
Michael Wilson. 
Thos. S Ford. 
J. W. Foxworth. 
John Gillis. 
Theo. B. Ford. 
Henry Pope. 
Henry Pope. 
A. L Summers. 
D M. Watkins. 
J. M. Foxworth. 



MAESHALL COUNTY, 

Named in honor of the great jurist, John Marshall, Chief Justice 
of the Supreme Court of the United States, was established Feb- 
ruary 9th, 1836. 

Among the early settlers were Frederick Huling, circuit judge, 
and George Wilson, district attorney, Judge Alex. M. Clayton, 
who was both circuit and supreme judge, an able and painstak- 
ing lawj^er, father-in-law of the present capable and popular cir- 
cuit judge, Hon. Jas. T. Fant ; Roger Barton, a prominent lawyer 
and politician ; Samuel Benton, an excellent lawyer, was Colonel 
of the Thirty-seventh Mississippi regiment, and was killed dur- 
ing the war; Hon. John W. C. Watson, a great lawyer, a Sena- 
tor in the Confederate States Congress, delegate to the Conven- 
tion in 1868, aiterwards circuit judge for six years ; was the 
father of James Watson, a lawyer of high character, residing 
in Memphis, and of the late, Edward M. Watson, one of the 
most brilliant and promising young lawyers of the State ; the 
late Harvey W. Walter, a lawyer of high character, of courtly 



534 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

and agreeable manuers, served on the staff of General Bragg 
with the rank of Colonel, was at one time the nominee oi the 
Whig party for Governor ; Joseph W. Chalmers was vice-chan- 
cellor and was appointed United States Senator to fill the va- 
cancy occasioned by the resignation of Robert J. Walker ; was 
subsequently elected for the vacant term; he was the father of 
Gen. Jas. R., and the late H. H. Chalmers ; the former was dis- 
trict attorney, State Senator, and afterwards a member of Con- 
gress J the latter, a lawyer of recognized ability, was serving his 
second term as supreme judge at the time of his death ; Hon. 
Alex. B. Bradford, who was Major of the famous First Mississippi 
regiment, commanded by Colonel Davis in Mexico ; he served in 
the State Legislature, and was an honorable, impulsive and gen- 
erous gentleman ; Major James F. Totten, P. W. Lucas, John H. 
Anderson and Wm. Finlay, lawyers. The foregoing gentlemen 
constituted the members of, the bar of Marshall at an early day. 
Among the early settlers maj'^ be numbered Dr. Barton, Dr. F. 
O. Caruthers, Wm. B. Taylor, John Pittman, Joseph and A. T. 
Caruthers, Randolph Mott, father of the gallant Brigadier-Gen- 
eral C. H. Mott ; Aaron Woodruff, Jesse Lewelien, Jesse P. Nor- 
fleet, Gordentia Waite, who was clerk of the probate court tor 
twenty years; John R. McCarroll, sheriff of the county for 
twenty years ; O. D. Watson, N. R. Sledge, John A. Lero}^, Jas. 
Sims, Jas. Greer, Robt. S. Greer, who represented the county in 
both branches of the Legislature, as did Charles S. Thomas, John 
Gibbons and Wm. Davis; the Hull family, Wm. Crump, Andrew 
L., and John D. Martin, the Lamkin family, A. N. Mayer, 
Robert H. and Wm. Wall, J. W. Hill, John B. and Jas. W. Fant 
and Sanders Taylor, were planters of prominence; B. W. Wal- 
thall, a prominent citizen, highly respected, the father of General 
E. C. Walthall, a lawyer of distinction, a distinguished Major- 
General in the Confederate army, twice elected LTnited States Sen- 
ator ; Judge R. S. Stith, an able, accurate and well-informed law- 
yer, the uncle of the late Hon. Kinloch Falconer, known so well 
throughout the western army as Adjutant-General ; after the war 
he was elected Lieut. -Governor on the Humphreys ticket, that 
defeated the Constitution of 1868, and was subsequently elected 
Secretary of State, which position he held at the time of his death ; 
W. M. Strickland, who held the rank of Major in the Confeder- 
ate service, and a lawyer of high character an(l standing. In 
the Lamar neighborhood were Hon. Andrew R. Govan, a native 
of South Carolina, twice elected to Congress from that State, the 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 585 

father of Brigadier-General Grovan, of Arkansas, and of Major 
George M. Govan, who has served as Clerk of the House of Kep- 
resentatives, member of the Legislature, and now filling his sec- 
ond term as Secretary of State; Dr. G. W. and Col. Wm. B. Smith, 
T. L. Treadwell, Dr. J. Y. Cummings, William Copwood, Thomas 
Mull, Thomas J. Henderson, Hon. Joseph W. Matthews, pre- 
viously mentioned. In the neighborhood of Mt. Pleasant were 
J. C. Barrett, Dr. Marshall, James H. Hale, John E. Norfleet, 
John Steger and William McFerren. 

In the Early Grove vicinity were Maxwell Wilson, Major 
Barringer, the Franklins, Jas. Pool and D. A. Abernathy. 

In the region of Bainesville were Wm. Bailey, John Barron, 
Jas. Wiseman, N. K. Carrington and Jonathan Bogen. 

About Byhalia were Sterling Withers, Clark C. White, Wilson 
Durham, Absalom Myers, father of the late Col. George C. 
Myers, who commanded a regiment in the war, and for years 
clerk of the circuit court, also of Hon. Henry C. Myers, who 
was sheriff of the county and served two terms as Secretary of 
State ; W. J. Williams, Stephen, D. Y. and Kobert Harris, and 
the families of Rainford. 

About Wall Hill and Watson were Wm. Wall, John Sharp, 
Levi Fowler, Harvey Nichols, Simpson Payne and Isaac McCamp- 
bell. 

The early settlers near Chulahoma, were C. P. Strickland, 
R. C. Goodall, Thos. Lane, Wm. McEwen, Dr. C. S. Brown, W. 
W. Nevil, Wm. D. Ellis, Solomon Dutz, D. M. Young, D. M. 
Davis, Joseph Dean, father of Hon. R. A. Dean, vState Senator 
from Lafayette, and a delegate from that county to the Constitu- 
tional Convention of 1890 ; Edward Cox, Volney Peel, Edward 
Norfleet, Wm. Echols, Jas. Glover, A, P. Armstead, L. M. 
James, Chas. Eastman. 

In the Black Bordw neighborhood were Jeremiah Tucker, a 
Baptist minister, John R. Strickland, F. Woods, Samuel and 
W. P. Johnson. 

Waterford was settled by Dr. Thos. J. Malone, prior to the 
organization of the county, and soon after came James Moring, 
Wilcox Jones, John and Elijah Bordneau, Jack Peace, John and 
George Sherman, Harris O. Allen and Jas. Greer. 

In the neighborhood of Bethlehem and Potts' Camp were E. F. 
Potts, John Morgan, William Poe, Wm. Cook, D. A. Alvis and 
the Jarnegans. 



536 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

In the vicinity of Hudsonville were Capt. Peters, Robert Hunt, 
John McKee, Peter Seals, Dabney Miner, Wm. Arthur, Spear- 
man and Kemp Holland. 

The following are the principal towns in the county: Holly 
Springs, the county site, Byhalia, Eed Banks, Victoria, Potts' 
Camp ; the last four named are situated on the Kansas City, 
Memphis and Birmingham Bailroad; Hudsonville and Water- 
ford are situated on the Illinois (j^lJentral Railroad. 

The following towns in the county are not located on any 
railroad : Mount Pleasant, Early Grove, Oak Grove, Bainesville, 
Watson, Wall Hill, Chulahoma, Bethlehem and Cornersville. 

The county is penetrated by two important railroads. The Il- 
linois Central enters the State in Benton county and runs nearly 
south by the city of Holly Springs, the full length of the county, 
a distance of twenty-seven miles. The Kansas City, Memphis & 
Birmingham Railroad enters the county on the north-west bor- 
der, and runs south-east through the county a distance of thirty- 
six miles. 

The principal streams in the county are Cold Water and Lit- 
tle Cold Water, penetrating the north-west portion of the county, 
Pigeon Roost, and Chuffawah on the west, Chewalla; Big Spring, 
and Little Spring Creeks, and Tippah and Tallahatchie rivers. 

Hollj^ Springs, or "the City of Flowers," is eligibly located 
and widely known for the hospitality and culture of its people. 

Marshall county has 172,725 acres of cleared land; average 
value per acre as rendered to the assessor, $5.71. Total value 
of cleared lands, including incorporated towns and cities, $1,- 
641,462. 

The population of this county as shown by the census report 
of 1890: Whites, 9,533; colored, 16,508 ; total, 26,041. 

Senators. Representatives. 

i8^7 Claiborne Kyle. 

1838 Claiborne Kyle. K. S. Holland, B. C. Harley, B. Hill, Wm. 

Davis. 

1839 Claiborne Kyle. Roger Barton, K. S. Holland B. Hill, B. 

C. Harley. 

1840 Claiborne Kyle. L, R. Grey, T. Mull, J. W. Mathews, D. 

S. Greer. 

1841 Wm. R. Harley. J. J. Finley, H. O. Allen, W, Crump. H. 

H. Means 
i842-'43 Joseph W. Matthews. H. O. Allen, R. S. Greer. 
1844 Joseph W. Matthews. R. S. Greer, J. L. Totien, J. J. Steger, 

Robt. Josselyn. 
1S46 Joseph W. Matthews. J. L. Totten, E. F. Potts, T. J. Malone, J. 

H. Cowan. 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 



537 



1848 R. S. Greer. 

1850 R. S. Greer. 

1852. R. S. Greer. 

1854 R. S. Greer. 
i856-'57 R. S. Greer. 

1858 William T. Mason. 

1859 William T. Mason. 

i86o-'^i William T, Ma«on. 

i86i-'62 Robert S. Greer, 

i865-'66-'67 J. H. R. Taylor. 

i87C>-'7i Henry M. Paine. 
1872 Henry M. Paine. 

1873 

i874-'75 Geo. Albright. 

i876-'77 Geo. Albright. 

1878 A. M. West. 

1880 A. M. West. 

1882 W. F. Hyer. 

1884 W. F. Hyer. 

1886 Thos. M. Kemp. 

1888 Thos. M. Kemp. 
1890 M. J. McKinney. 



J. J. Steger, C. L. Thomas, J. C. Ander- 
son, R. Phillips. 

Roger Barton, C. L. Thomas, T. J. Malone, 
C. H. Mott. 

Samuel Benton, Jas. H. R. Taylor, A. B 
Bradford, J. C. Gobbins. 

J. L. Autry, Thomas Mull, Russell Dean, 

J. L. Autry, J. L. Dunlap, T. J. Hudson, 
J. W. Clapp. 

T. J. Hudson, J. L. Autry, J. R. Norfleet, 
R. Phillips. 

B. R. Long, T. L. Dunlap, R. Dean, J. L. 

Hudson, A. Q. Withers. 
J. L. Hudson, T. L. Dunlap, R. Dean, B. 
R. Long, W. A. Withers. 

W. M. Compton, G. H. Mosely, F. J. Ma- 
lone, J. R. Daniel, A. Q. Withers. 

Wm. Wall, J. R. Daniel, R. P. Brown, A. 
M. Lyles. B. T. Weber. 

E. Buchanan, W. L. Jones, E. P. Hatch. 

W. F. Hyer, John Calhoon, J. H. Tucker, 
E. H. Crump. 

W. F. Hyer, John Calhoon, J. H. Tucker, 
E. H. Crump. 

N. G. Gill, A. A. Rodgers, R. Williams, A. 
Peal. 

W. S. Featherston, J. C. Amacker, E. Al- 
drich, Wm. C. Warren. 

E. Aldrich, Wm. C- Warren, W. R. Mont- 
gomery, R. Cunningham. 

W. S. Featherston, S. W. Mullins, E. J. 
Marett, G- C. Selby. 

A. F. Brown, R. J. McCall, G. W. McKie, 
W. D. Rodman. 

J. W. C. WatsoP, S. W. Mullins, R. A. 
Baird. 

W. J. McKinney, R. A. Baird, G. W. Mc- 
Kie. 

W. J. McKinney, T. B. Luck, R. S. Greer. 

A. M. West, Ed. S. Watson, J. T. Brown, 



CHAPTER XXX. 



MONEOE COUNTY 

WAS established February 9th, 1821, and was named in 
honor of President James Monroe. At the time of its 
organization the county embraced the territory out of which 
Lowndes county, nine years later, was carved. Hamilton, a few 
miles above Buttahatchie river, was the first county site, and at 
the time of its location a trading point of considerable impor- 
tance. 

Among the early settlers were Col. Austin Willis, Mr. Cocke, 
the father of Chancellor Stephen Cocke; Daniel W. Wright, the 
Cravens, Alexanders, Sandersons, Branches, Fords, Dr. Higga- 
son, Jacob Loughridge, Isaac Dyche, William Morse, and Ben. 
T. Keese ; Henry Hardy, John Colter, John Eoss, the Echolls, 
Martins, Farrisses and Hutchinsons. In the northern portion of 
the county were John Wise, Abner Dyer, Kirk and Mark Prew- 
itt, the McKinneys and Parchmans. 

In the prairies, when first brought into cultivation, and at the 
time almost unsurpassed in the production of cotton, were the 
Walkers, Handles and Evans, one of whom was the father of 
Captain Joe Evans, the present State Treasurer. There were 
also the three Sykes brothers, Rev. Simon B., Drs. Wm. A. and 
Augustus Sykes. The first was a minister of the gospel of high 
character and comfortable fortune. He was the father-in-law of 
Judge Frank Rodgers, who many of the people of the State will 
remember as the nominee of the Whig party for Governor of 
the State in opposition to John J. McRae. He served his judi- 
cial district with great acceptability as circuit judge and was a 
gentleman of fine presence and agreeable address. On the hotly 
contested field of Fort Donelson he laid down his life in defence 
of the Southern cause. Dr. William A. Sykes was a gentleman 
of superior judgment, and was highly respected for his christian 
virtues. He was the father of Captains Thos. B , Eugene O. 
and Dr. Granville Sykes. Captain Thos. B. Sykes served two 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 539 

terms as chief magistrate of Aberdeen, and the second brother, 
Captain E. O. Sykes, represented the county a number of times 
in the Legislature and was a delegate to the Constitutional Con- 
vention of 1890. Dr. Augustus Sykes, like his brothers, was a 
gentleman of good fortune and much respected. His two sons, 
Hon. E. T. Sykes, a lawj'^er of high standing and former State 
Senator, and Dr. Eichard Sykes, a gentleman of excellent pro- 
fessional attainments, reside in the city of Columbus. Captain 
E. L. Sykes, who was sheriff of Monroe county for several 
years, belongs to the same family. His father died when a very 
young man. 

In the same locality were the Taylors, Moores, McAllisters, 
Boyds, Ewings, Wards, Cloptons, Cunninghams, Abbotts, Vas- 
sars, one of whom, Captain Wm. H, Vassar, was State Treas- 
urer; G-illespies, Waltons, Gordons, Eagsdales, Gunns, McClen- 
dons, Watsons, Watkins, Harrisons, Col. George H. Young, a 
gentleman of high character and large fortune, whose beautiful 
and attractive home at Waverly was widely known for its cordial 
hospitality. The Waverly section of the country subsequently 
became a part of Lowndes county, and more recently of Clay. 
Also the Eogers family. 

Hon. Samuel J. Gholson was among the early settlers of Mon- 
roe county. He was a member of Congress in 1837 and 1838 ; 
served one full term and part of another. He was subsequently 
appointed Judge of the United States Court of Mississippi by 
President Martin Van Buren, and remained on the bench for 
more than twenty years — until the State severed her relations 
with the general government in 1861. Judge Gholson entered 
the Confederate army in 1861, as Captain. He was an earnest 
and gallant soldier, and at the cessation of hostilities was a 
Brigadier-General, commanding State troops. He was elected 
to the Legislature in 1866, and made Speaker of the House of 
Eepresentative. General Gholson was an able, brave and gener- 
ous gentleman. 

General Eeuben Davis, who recently died at the advanced age 
of eighty-five years, became a citizen of Monroe county when 
the county site was Hamilton. He read medicine with his 
brother-in-law, Dr. Higgasou ; after practicing for several years, 
he became dissatisfied with the profession, abandoned it and 
read law, and very soon became prominent as a criminal lawyer. 
In 1842 he was appointed by the Governor, Judge, to fill a 
vacancy occurring in the High Court of Errors and Appeals. 



540 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

He occupied the bench but a short time, delivering but two 
opinions, which can be found in Sixth Howard Mississippi Eeports. 
Prior to the war he served in the Congress of the United States, 
and during the war was a member of the Confederate Congress. 
He was honorable, impetuous and courageous, always maintain- 
ing his opinions independently and fearlessly. He left bis vol- 
ume of "Eeminiscences of Mississippi and Mississippians" as a 
contribution which does honor to his memory. 

The lawyers who assembled at Athens at an early day, and 
subsequently located at Aberdeen when it was made the county 
site, were in the main men of a high order of talent. 

In addition to those mentioned were Hon. John B. Sale, a gen- 
tleman of intellectual power and ranked deservedly with the 
foremost lawyers of the State. 

Hon. James Phelan^ who was elected to the Confederate Sen- 
ate from the State, was an accurate lawyer, with agreeable man- 
ners and scholarly attainments. 

Hon. Joel M. Acker, a lawyer of acknowledged merit, has 
always held a high rank among his brethren at the bar. 

Hon. Locke E. Houston, the venerable Judge of the first Judi- 
cial District is probably the sole survivor of the lawyers who 
settled at an early day at Athens. A thoroughly trained law- 
yer^ with a mind of great strength, well stored with legal learn- 
ing, he has for more than forty years occupied a high place in the 
estimation of his professional brethren of the State, an able and 
impartial judge, courteous and dignified, affable manners, the 
peer of any, respected and honored by all. 

The long established firm of Houston and Keynolds was dis- 
solved by Judge Houston's acceptance of the Circuit Judgeship. 
Col. Eeuben O. Eeynolds, the junior partner. Colonel of a 
regiment in the Confederate service, was for many years 
a prominent figure in Mississippi politics, as well as a law- 
yer of distinguished ability. During his long service in the 
State Senate he labored for the development and advancement 
of the State. He was able, active, and upon all occasions ex- 
hibited the greatest interest in measures that had for their object 
the welfare of Mississippi. A leader of the body of which he 
was so long a member, he was uniformly polite and obliging. 
He was a persuasive speaker, full of resources, graceful in his 
bearing, and with the manners of a thorough gentleman. He 
was strong and adroit in debate, eminently conservative, and 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 541 

always listened to with interest and respect. Gentle and en- 
gaging in manner, clear and forcible in the discussion of his 
subject, Eeuben O. Eeynolds was a favorite with the general 
public, and a most valualbe citizen. His early demise was not 
only felt in the immediate vicinity where his long life had been 
spent, but throughout the State. Peace to the ashes of the gal- 
lant soldier, learned lawyer, able legislator, worthy citizen and 
gifted gentleman. 

The high character and ability of the bar at the period men- 
tioned served as a bright example to the younger members of the 
profession now in full practice, who with their legal learning, 
scrupulously observed the courtesies and ethics left them as a 
heritage by those who have passed away. 

The towns in the county are Aberdeen, the county site, Amory, 
Nettleton, Smithville^ Quincy, Grattman, Reynolds, Strongs, Mul- 
don and Prairie. 

The principal streams are Tombigbee river, Old Town Creek, 
Matubba, Jones, Town, Buttahatchie, Sipsey, Weaver and Chu- 
quatoncha Creeks. 

There are three railroads in the county, the Mobile and Ohio, 
Canton, Aberdeen and Nashville and the Kansas City, Mem- 
phis and Birmingham — aggregating fifty-eight miles. 

Monroe, with her fertile lands and excellent population, is prop- 
erly classed among the best counties in the State. 

This county has 176,539 acres of cleared land — average value 
per acre as rendered to the assessor, $11.13. Total value of 
cleared lands, including incorporated towns and cities, $1,966,- 
681. 

The population of Monroe as shown by the census report of 
1890: Whites, 11,930; colored, 18,792; total, 30,722. 

Senators. Representatives. 

1822 Bartlett C. Barry. William Cocke. 

1823-25 Bartletl C. Barry. C. H. Williams. 

1826 William Downing. Robert D. Haden. 

1827 William Downing. Geo. Higgason, R. Edrington, J. F. Trotter. 

1828 William Downing. Geo. Higgason, L. Pruett, R. Edrington. 

1829 James F. Trotter. R. Edrington, D. W. Wright, S. Ragsdale. 

1830 James F. Trotter. Sam'l Ragsdale, John Bell, J. Higgason. 
1833 George Higgason. John Bell. 

1835 Stephen Cocke. S. J. Gholson. 

1836 S. J. Gholson, James McKinney, 

1837 James McKinney, J. H. Bell. 

1838 Samuel Ragsdale. Lemuel Prewett, G. Jowers. 

1839 Samuel Ragsdale. S. J. Gholson, G. Jowers. 

1840 Samuel Ragsdale. John R. Greer, J. M. Acker. 

1 841 Samuel Ragsdale. Joel M. Acker, J. R. Greer. 



542 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

1842 J. Y. Thompson. John R. Greer, J. M. Acker. 

1843 J- Y. Thompson. 

1844 J. Y. Thompson. John Abbott, J. M. Acker. 
1846 Joel M Acker. J. C. Moore, R. Dilworth. 

1848 James E. Harrison. Locke E. Houston. J. T. Fortson. 

1850 J. Y. Thompson. Stephen Adams, T. T. Armstrong. 

185a J. Y. Thompson. Thomas Coopwood, James Sullivan. 

1854 J. M. Acker. D. W. Saddler, Lewis Nabors. 

1856 J. M, Acker. R'euben Davis, John A. Abbott. 

1857 Benjamin Bradford. Thomas H. Davis, John A. Abbott. 

1858 Richard Harrison. S. F. Kendrick, Lewis Nabors. 

1859 Richard Harrison. B. M. Bradford, J. R. Lyles. 
1860-61 Richard Harrison. J. R. Lyles, B. M. Bradford. 
1861-62 James Phelan. J. L. Tindall, L. B. Moore. 
1865-66 J. H. Anderson. S. J. Gholson, Joel M. Acker. 
1870-71 F. H. Little, F. M. Ab- 
bott. William Hodges. 

1872-73 F. H. Little, F. M. Abbott. A. P. Huggins, Arthur Brooks, Wm. Holmes. 
1874-75-Nathan Shirley, F. H. J. C. Walker. 

Little. 
1876-77 R. O. Reynolds, Nathan A. J. Sykes, W. W. Troupe, J. M. Trice. 

Shirley. 
1878 R. O. Reynolds, J. T. Griffin. S. J. Gholson, N. W. Hatch, Wright Cun- 
ningham. 
1880 R. O. Reynolds, T. J. Griffin. E. O. Sykes, J. C. Burdine, A. Carter. 
1882 R. O. Reynolds, Sam'l L. E, O. Sykes, J. C. Burdine, J. M. Trice. 

Wilson. 
1884 R. O. Reynolds, Jno. M. R. E. Houston, C. H. Moore, L. D. Hol- 

Simonton. lingsworth. 

1886 R. O. Reynolds, Jno, M. J. M. Acker, Jr., J. T. Dilworth, J. C. Bur- 

Simonton. dine. 

1888 J. C. Burdine, J. L. Turnage. J. T. Dilworth, T. A. Oliphant, J. R. Murfif. 
1890 J. C. Burdine, J, L. Turnage. J. T. Dilworth, T. A. Oliphant, R. E. Hous- 
ton. 



MONTGOMEEY COUNTY, 

Named h\ memory of General Richard Montgomery who fell in 
the assault upon Quebec during the Revolutionary war, was es- 
tablished May 13th, 1871. 

Captain J. A. Binford, Sr., Dr. H. P. Turner, Dr. Samuel Hilb 
O.J. Moore and Willis Barfield were appointed commissioners to 
organize the count3^ 

The Governor was authorized to appoint county officers. By 
the terms of the act creating the county, Montgomery was to pay 
its proportion of the debt of Choctaw and Carroll counties from 
which it was formed. The amount fixed as being due Carroll 
was two-ninths of that county's existing debt. 

Many of the early settlers of the territory now embraced in 
Montgomery are among those to be found in the record and lists 
of Carroll and Choctaw. 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 543 

J. C. McKerizieand the late E. F. Holloway were the first Eep- 
resentatives from the county in the Legislature. 

The towns in the county are Winona, the oounly site, an enter- 
prising and prosperous town, situated where the Georgia Pacific 
crosses the Illinois Central Eailroad, Duck Hill, Lodi, Sawyers, 
Mayfield and Kilmichael. 

The streams are Big Black river, Hays, I/ewis, Mulberry, 
Wolf and Grape creeks. 

The Illinois Central and Georgia Pacific railroads traverse the 
county, the former from North t^ South, and the latter from East 
to West. * 

Montgomery has 95,512 acret of cleared land; average value 
per acre, $3.79. Total value, including incorporated towns, 
$741,100. 

The population as shown by the census report of 1890: 
Whites,, 7,372 ; colored, 7,085 ; total, 14,457. 

Senators. Representatives. 

i872-'73 J. C. McKenzie, R. F. Holloway. 

1^74 Jackson Martin, J. P. Thompson. 

1875 M. H. Tuttle. Jackson Martin, J, P. Thompson 

i876-'77 M. H. Tuttle. A. J. Baker, S. L. Boyd. 

1878 W. D. Peery. A B Hurt, M. H. Allen. 

18S0 W. D. Peery. W. A. Huit, Jas. Drane. 

1882 James M. Liddell. W. A. Hurt, J. W. Armstrong. 

1884 James M. Liddell. J. E. Flowers. 

1S86 James R. Binford. J, E. Flowers. 

1888 James R. Binford. W. S. Hill. 

1890 L. M. Southworth. J. P. Taylor. 



NESHOBA COUNTY 

Was established December 23d, 1833, and two days later, John J. 
Smith, James L. Jolly, Gilbert D. Gere, Samuel Hathorn, Mor- 
gan McAfee, F. Carr, Jo. Boggan, John Eiley Dunn, D. W. Hop- 
kins, Sr., John P. Smith, Eobert Laird, James Boykin and James 
Furlow were appointed, by an act of the Legislature, commis- 
sioners to organize the county. 

Among the early settlers were Col. James Wilson, Malcolm 
Mclntire, who was the first sheriff; William Barnes, the first 
county clerk, and Henry Killen the first probate judge of the 
county ; Dr. W. A. Lewis, who settled in Neshoba before the or- 
ganization of the county; John A. Thompson, a venerable and 
highly-respected citizen, the father of Capt. P. L. Thompson, of 
the Thirty-sixth Mississippi Eegiment, who fell at the battle of 



544 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 



Nashville, Tenn.; Wm. Boyd, James Ellis, who was the first rep- 
resentative of the county; Gordon D. Boyd, Samuel N. Gilliland. 
John D. Boyd, George Hicks and John J. Pettus represented the 
county in the Slate Senate, and B. J. Jacowa, Hugh Harrison 
and A. B. Wooldridge in the Legislature from the county at an 
early day. 

The towns of the county are Philadelphia, the county site, 
Laurel Hill, Dowdville, JSTew Hope, Dixon, Milldale, Java and 
North Bend. 

The principal streams are Peirl river, Pinnyshook, Kentawha, 
Beasha, Owl and Noxapater creaks. 

Neshoba county has 40,754 a^res of cleared land ; average 
value per acre, $3.01. Total 'value, including incorporated 
towns, $127,531. 

The population as shown by the census report of 1890 : T7hites, 

8,320; colored, 2,175; total, 10,495. 

Senators. 

835 

836 

837 Gordon D. Boyd. 

838-39 Gordon D. Boyd. 

840-'4i Samuel N. Gilliland, 

842-43 Samuel N. Gilliland. 

844 John D. Boyd. 

846 George Hicks. 



Representatives. 
James Ellis. 
James Ellis. 
James Ellis. 
B. J. Jacoway. 
Hugh Harrison. 
A. B. Woldridge. 
Francis Keenan. 
Ira N. Nash. 



John J, Pettus. 
850 John J. Pettus, 
852 John J. Pettus. 
854 John J. Pettus. 
856-57 John J. Pettus. 
858-'59 Isaac Enloe. 
86c)-'6i Isaac Enloe. 
86i-'62 O. Y. Neely. 
865-'66-'67 H, C. Robinson. 
87o-'7i W. R. Rushing. 

871 G. Smith. 

872 G. Smith. 

873 Geo. Smith, J. P. Gilmer. 
874-'75 Isham Stewart. 
876-'77 H. W. Foote, I. Stewart. 
878 W. C. Dowd, 

880 C. A. Wilcox. 
882 John Terry, 
884 John Terry. 
886 R. P. Austin. 
888 R. P. Austin. 
890 A. M. Byrd. 



A. B. Woldridge. 
R. B. Kirkland. 
Isaac Enloe. 
L. B. Austell. 
R. B, Kirkland, 
J, L, Blackstrome. 
J. L. Blackstrome. 
Hugh McDonald, 
James M. Bowden. 
Henry C, Greer. 

J. M. Kelley, 
J. M. Kelley. 
H. C. Greer. 
Wm, L. Bassett, 
Wm. L. Bassett, 
A, J. Cooper. 
J. C. McBeath. 
W. L. Bassett. 
A. J. Cooper. 
L. Stainton. 
L. Stainton. 



NOXUBEE COUNTY, 
One of the rich and fertile counties of the prairie belt in north- 
east Mississippi, was established December 3d, 1833. Two daj's 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 545 

later Gabriel Felder, John Hardeman, E. T. Mitchell^ James Gil- 
lespie, Jesse Crawford and Alfred Everett were by an act of the 
Legislature appointed commissioners to organize the county. 

On the 18th day of January, 1834, the first board of police was 
organized in Noxubee, the members being Isham Harrison, "Wra. 
Colbert, W. C. H. Fiuley, Thomas Ellington and Felix H. Walk- 
er. Isham Harrison was chosen president and F. W. Callaway, 
clerk. Judge Thomas S. Sterling held the first term of the cir- 
cuit court in the county, in the south end of a double log house 
known as the Frith hotel. R. J. Swearingen was clerk. The 
local attorneys were James T. Harrison, R. Ruff and C. W. Allen* 
The visiting lawyers were C. L. Acee, T. M. Tucker and Henley 
S. Bennett. George B. Augustus was the first probate judge of 
the county, and held the first term on the fourth Monday in July, 
1834. The only order made at that term was to adjourn, there 
being no business. 

At the meeting of the board of police on the 3d^ day of Novem- 
ber, 1834, the following orders were entered of record : 

"charges for tavern." 

Horse and man staying all night, supper and breakfast. 75 

Dinner 37* 

Breakfast 37* 

Supper. 37i 

Board per month $10 00 

With lodging 12 00 

Horse feed 25 

. Spirits, per drink 06^ 

Judge James F. Trotter held the May term of the circuit 
court, 1835, in a temporary wooden building. 

A two-story brick courthouse was built early in the 40's, which 
was used until a short time prior to the war, when a larger and 
more commodious one was erected at a cost of $60,000, which 
has since been occupied. Judge George Coulter held the May 
term of the circuit court in 1836, at which time H. W. Foote was 
clerk of the court. Stephen Adams succeeded Judge Trotter, 
who in turn was succeeded by Judge Henley S. Bennett. 

H. W. Foote was clerk of the circuit court for eight years, 
during which time he read law and commenced a successful pro- 
fessional career at Macon. He represented the county four years 
in the Legislature, and subsequently twice elected circuit judge 
of the sixth judicial district. He commanded the Noxubee 
cavalry of the 1st Mississippi regiment. After the war he was 
35 



546 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 



elected State Senator, and served for four years, when he retired 
from public life. The venerable Judge is still living, and is 
president of the Merchants' and Farmers' Bank in Macon. 

The county site of Noxubee has always boasted a strong 
bar, the two oldest members being Judge Foote and the late 
Hon. H. L. Jarnagin. Mr. Jarnagin was an intelligent and 
painstaking lawyer, widely known and universally respected. 
The lawyers of later years, younger members of the bar, have 
maintained the high standard erected by those of an early day. 

The towns, in addition to Macon, the county site, are Brooks- 
ville, Shuqualak, Cooksville and Summerville, which latter was 
the location of the school of Hon. Thomas S. Gathright. Mr. 
Gathright was an educator of high character, and educated quite a 
number of young men, who afterwards became prominent in the 
State. After the restoration of the Democratic party in 1876, Mr. 
Gathright was appointed State Superintendent of Education, 
which position he resigned and accepted the presidency of a col- 
lege in Texas. 

The principal streams in the county are Noxubee river, origi- 
nally called Okanoxubee, which enters at the northwest corner 
and runs diagonally through the county; it is navigable to 
Macon; the Broken, Pumkin, Bouge Ghitto, Ash, Tippetts, Blum, 
Horse-Hunter, Joe's, Wet Water, Coon, Crows, Short-bag, Waha- 
lak, Shuqulak, Eunning W.ater, Hashuqua, Dry, Dancing Eabbit, 
Wolf, Sun, Lyn, Yellow and Loakpoma creeks. 

The Mobile and Ohio Eailroad runs through the centre of the 
county. 

There are 252,233 acres of cleared lands in Noxubee; average 
value as rendered to the assessor, $7.02 per acre. Total value 
of cleared lands, including incorporated towns, $2,303,685. 

The population of this county as shown by the census report 
of 1890— whites, 4,615 ; colored, 22,723 ; total, 27,838. 
Senators. Reprksentatives. 



1835 
1836 

1837 George B. Augustus. 

1838 George B Augustus. 

1839 George B. Augustus. 
i840-'4i George B. Augustus. 

1842 Joseph Bell. 

1843 Joseph Bell. 

1844 Joseph Bell. 

1846 Anderson W. Dabney. 
1848 Anderson W. Dabney. 
1850 Thomas J. Hughes. 



Thomas D. Wooldridge. 
Geoige B, Augustus. 

James Moore, Reuben Ruff. 
V. M. Murphy, Reuben Ruff. 
Reuben Ruff, John H. Greer. 
H. L. Jarnagin, Joseph B. Cobb. 
H L. Jarnagin, C. W. Allen. 
H. L. Jarnagin, E. F. Tubbs. 
J. M. Maxey, J. D. Brooks. 
George H. Foote, S Moore. 
M. W. Brooks, George H. Foote. 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 



547 



1852 Thomas J. Hughes. 
1854 Joseph Koger. 
i856-'57 Joseph Koger. 
1858 J. B. Covington. 
i859-'6o-'6i J. B Covington. 
1861 '62 G. D. Moore. 
i865-'66-'67 W. D. Lyles. 
i870-'7i George S. Smith. 

1872 George S. Smith. 

1873 Geo. S, Smith, J. P. Gilmer. 

i874-'75 Isham Stewart. 

1876-77 H. W. Foote, Isham 

Stewart. 
1878 H. W. Foote. 
1880 H. L. Jarnagin. 
1882 H. L. Jarnagin. 
1884 Geo. G. Dillard. 

1886 Geo. G. Dillard. 

1888 Geo. G. Dillard. 
1890 Geo. G. Dillard. 



H. L. Jarnagin, W. W. Roby. 

Henry O. Beasley. 

H. W. Foote. O. C. Eiland. 

I. Welsh, C. M. Thomas. 

W. B. Augustus. 

J. D. Brook. 

J. J. Beauchamp. • 

Isham Stewart, A. K. Davis, M. McNeese. 

Isham Stewart, J. Wilson Chandler, A. K. 
Davis. 

Isham Stewart, J. Wilson Chandler, A. K. 
Davis. 

J. W. Chandler, M. McNeese, Thomas A. 
Cotton. 

H. I.. Jarnagin, M. McNeese, L. W. Over- 
ton. 

Clarke Lewis, W. B. Augustus, E. F. Nunn. 

J. E Madison, S. B. Day, H. H. Hunter. 

A. "W. Simpson, J. L. Griggs, S. G. Ivy. 

A. W. Simpson, J. L. Clemens, A. J. Bos- 
well. 

J. S. Madison, J. L. Clemens, J. A. Nichol- 
son. 

J. S Madison, J. L. Clemens, C. M.Thomas. 

J. S. Madison, T. J. O'Neil, C. M. Thomas. 



NEWTON COUNTY 

Was named in honor of Sir Isaac Newton, the great English 
scientist and philosopher, and was established in 1836, and among 
its first settlers were William Harris, James Harris, John Ever- 
ett, G-. Jones, Samuel Ferguson, J. L. Ferguson, Williamsons, 
John Blakely, Beards, Saffold, Mint Blalock, Willis Norman, 
Eoger Dooliltle, Williams, Jones, Johnsons, McMullins, Clark, 
Nimocks, Lopers, Dansbys, Chapmans, Kellys, Eoberts, Jones 
Castle, Alexander Kussell, Wells, Ed Walls, John Walls, Scan- 
lans, Benjamin Bright, Mire Bright, Amons, Pace. 

The principal towns are Decatur, the county site, named for 
Commodore Stephen Decatur, Newton, Hickory, named for Gen- 
eral Jackson, Connehatta, Lawrence and Chunkey. 

The principal streams are Chunkey river, Oktibbeha creek; 
these two unite at Enterprise, in Clarke county, and make 
Chickasahay river; Polloochitto, Okobatta, Turkey, Connehatta, 
Bogue Phalia and Torlow Creeks. 

The Vicksburg and Meridian railroad, now known as the Ala- 
bama and Vicksburg road, runs from west to east through the 
entire length of the county. 

There is a variety of soil in the county, the greater portion of 
which yields satisfactory crops. It may be said, too, that this is 



548 



HISTORY OB^ MISSISSIPPI. 



Ihe pioneer county in introducing fertilizers, which has proven a 
great success. 

Newton county has 66,768 acres of cleared land ; average 
value per acre, as rendered to the assessor, is $6.11 ; total value 
of cleared lands including incorporated towns is $470,303. 

The population as shown by the census report of 1890 : whites, 

10,082 , colored, 6,192 ; total, 16,274. 

Senators. Representatives. 

1837 Oliver C. Dease. 
i838-'39 Oliver C. Dease. 
i840-'4i John C. Thomas. 
i842-'43 John C. Thomas. 
i844-'46 Simeon R. Adams. 
1 848-' 50 W. P. Carter. 
1852 S. L. Hussey. 
1854 James J. Monroe. 
i856-'57-'58 C. G. Miller. 
i859-'6o-'6i Wm. Thames. 
i86i-'62 Wm. Thames. 

1865 Robert Leachman. 

1866 J. W. Brooks. 
i87o-'7i T. J. Hardy. 
i872-'73 John Watts. 

1874 T. B. Graham. 

1875 T. B. Graham. 

1876 T. B. Graham. 

1877 H. C. McCabe. 
i878-'8o Asa R. Carter. 
1882 Thos. Keith. 
1884 Thos. Keith. 
1886 R. P. Austin. 



James Ellis. 
James Ellis. 
W. B. Dozier. 
J. M. Loper. 
Wm. Thames. 
Wm. Thames. 
Wm. Thames. 
M. M. Keith. 
M, M. Keith. 
J. C. McElroy. 
J. C. McElroy. 
J. C. McElroy. 
J, L. Bolton. 
C. S. Swann. 



1888 R. P. Austin. 
1890 A. M. Byrd. 



Isaac L. Pennington. 

Isaac L. Pennington. 

Martin W. Stamper. 

D. T. Chapman. 

I. L. Bolton, J. H. Reagan. 

D. T. Chapman, U. L. Roberts 

J. H. Reagan, J. R. Pace. 

J. H. Reagan, U. L. Roberts. 



OKTIBBEHA COUNTY 

Was established December 23d, 1833. The county of Oktibbeha 
derives its name from the stream formally known as Oktibbeha 
river, but now called Tibbee creek ; this stream was the dividing 
line between the Chickasaw and Choctaw Nations, and in the 
early days of Indian occupancj'^, battles were fought on the 
Oktibbeha, or as interpreted. Bloody Water. 

By an act of the Legislature approved December 25th, 1833, 

John Billington, Hogan, Norton, Eichard Hester and 

Calvin Cushman, were appointed commissioners to organize 
Oktibbeha and Choctaw counties. 

Starkville, the county site, with about 1500 inhabitants, was 
named in honor ol General Starke, of Revolutionary fame. 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 549 

The county and country contiguous is, in the main, dry, but 
during the occupancy of the Indians there was, near where the 
town of Starkville is now located, a famous spring about which 
there was quite a number of sweet gum trees, and at this place 
the Indians congregated to make their baskets, etc., and it was 
called by them "Hickashebeha," meaning sweet gum grove. 
This information was derived from the late Peter Peechlyn, a 
distinguished man of the Choctaw tribe, who was for many years 
the agent for his people at Washington, and who represented 
them before Congress when their interests were involved. 

The town of Artesia, on the Mobile and Ohio railroad, is in 
Peechlyn Prairie, named for the father of Peter Peechlyn, who. 
with Greenwood Leflore and others, was conspicuous in negotiat- 
ing the treaty between the Choctaws and the United States, bj' 
which the former ceded their lands and located west of the Mis- 
sissippi river. 

The Indian Agency was at one time located in Oktibbeha coun- 
ty with a Mr. Mayhew as agent, and for whom the prairie in the 
eastern part of the county was named, as was the little town of 
that name on the Mobile and Ohio railroad. At several places 
in the county Indian mounds are to be found, and these are sup- 
posed to be their burial grounds. 

It was many years after the organization of the county before 
all the Choctaws left; indeed, many of them were in this locality 
at the commencement of the civil war. 

The first sheriff was Eobert A. Lampkin ; Charles Dibrell, 
clerk of the court, and a Mr. Eeese was probate judge, but was 
succeeded by a Mr. Ames. 

The first circuit court was held under a large hickory tree 
about four miles north of Starkville. It is said that at that time 
the sheriff carried all the court papers in his hat without incon- 
venience. The first indictments found in the county were drawn 
by the late General Reuben Davis, who was the first district 
attornej^ after the organization of the county. 

Among the earlj'^ settlers were the Copeland, Skinner, Hol- 
bert. Brooks, Bell, Thompson Reed, Davis and Quinn families; 
Wm. R. Cannon, father-in-law of Hon. S. M. Meek, of Colum- 
bus ; Simon C. Muldrow, the father of Col. Henry L. Muldrow, 
a cavalry officer of the Confederacy, District Attorney, Repre- 
sentative in the State Legislature, Representative in Congress 
for three terms, and Assistant Secretary of the Interior during 
the administration of President Cleveland : Colonel W. S. 



550 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

Barry, Speaker of the lower branch of the State Legislature, 
member of Congress, colonel in the Confederate army, and 
one of the most eloquent and accomplished men of his day ; 
Hugh Montgomerj", the father of Colonel W. B. Montgom- 
ery, the latter an accomplished scholar and the most success- 
ful raiser of fine cattle in the South ; Thomas W. Dillard, 
now eighty-three years of age, the father of State Senator Geo. 
G. Dillard, who has been twice elected to the State Senate from 
Noxubee, and also a member of the Constitutional Convention of 
1890; Stephen E. Nash, father of Hon. Wiley N. Nash, ex-Dis- 
trict Attorney and prominent lawyer of the county ; Hampton 
H. Gray, Jas. W. Ervin, Chas. F, Miller and C. T. Montgomery. 

Among the first lawyers were Major Livingston Miras, now a 
prominent citizen of Atlanta, Georgia, formerly State Senator; 
Chas. F. Miller, Stephen E. Nash, C. J. Sullivan, Hampton H. 
Gay, Jas. W. Erwin and others, whose sons and daughters have 
emulated the virtues of their sturdy ancestors, and whose intel- 
ligence and patriotism have been alike creditable at home and 
abroad. 

The principal towns beside Starkville are Whitefield, Salem 
and Montgomery. 

The principal streams in the county are Noxubee river, 
Chinca, Talking Warrior, Red Bull, Sand and Trim Cane Creeks. 

The railroads are the Illinois Central and the Mobile and 
Ohio. 

Oktibbeha county has 120,903 acres of cleared land ; average 
value per acre, $4.98 ; total value, including incorporated towns, 
$811,821. 

The population of the county, as shown by the census report 
of 1890: Whites, 5,585; colored, 12,109; total, 17,694. 

Senators. Representatives, 

1835 Henry Gibson. 

1836 H. W. Norton. 

1837 James Walton. Alden S. Bayley. 

1838 James Walton. John G. Skinner. 

1839 James Walton. John P. Thompson. 

1840 James Walton. Richard Ellett. 

1841 James Walton. Spencer O. Harrington. 

1842 James Walton. 

1843 Littleberry Gillum. 

1844 John H. Williams. 

1846 John H. Williams. W. R. Cannon. 

1848 W. R. Cannon. S. A. Harrington. 

1850 W. R. Cannon. W. S. Barry. 

l852-'53 R. G. Steele. W. S. Barry. 

1854 R. G. Steele. E. R. Burt. 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 



551 



1856 J. W. Rice. 

1857 Chas. R. Jordan. 

1858 J. V. Hams. 
1859-60 J. V. Harris. 
1861 J. V. Harris. 
l86i-'62 Moses Jordan. 
i865-'66-'67 Chas. F. Miller. 
i87o-'7i C. A. Sullivan, Robert 

Gleed. 
i872-'73 C A. Sullivan, Robert 

Gleed. 
1874 C. A. Sullivan, Robert 

Gleed. 
1874-75 N. B. Bridges, Robert 

Gleed. 
i876-'77 W. H. Sims, F. G. 

Barry. 
1878 F. G. Barry. 
1880 John L. Crigler. 
1882 John L. Crigler. 
1884 H. L. Burkitt. 
1886 H. L. Burkitt, J. W. Bar- 

ron. 
1888 A. A. Montgomery, J. W. 

Barron. 
1890 A. A. Montgomery, J. R. 

Nolen. 



Robert Muldrow. 

Robert Muldrow. 

Samuel H. Daniel. 

W. H. Merrinar. 

Chas. Merrinar. 

Chas. F. Miller. 

B. L. Cromwell. 

Geo. H. Holland, D. Higgins. 

Geo. H. Holland, R. Nellies. 

Benjamin Chiles, A. Boyd. 

Benjamin Chiles, A. Boyd. 

Henry L. Muldrow, Benjamin Chiles. 

Jesse S. Montgomery, Wm. R. Rainey. 
J. G. Carroll, Wm. R. Rainey. 
J. S. Montgomery, Thos. J. Wood. 
J. S. Montgomery, Wiley N. Nash. 
T. B. Carroll, J. H. Askew. 

J. G. Carroll, J. H. Askew. 

S. O. Muldrow, R. P. Washington. 



CHAPTER XXXI. 



PANOLA COUNTY 

WAS established February 9th 1836. By an act of the 
Legislature, passed the 14th of February, 1836, A. B. 
Saunders, Chas. Bowen, B. W. Wilson, and John C. Henderson 
were appointed commissioners to organize the county. 

Among the early settlers of the county were Orville Harrison, 
D. J. Groff, E. Q. Vance, father of Hon. C. B. Vance, who rep- 
resented the county in the State Senate in 1878 and 1880 ; Gar- 
land Gr. Nelson, John Eayburn, who was first Senator from the 
county ; David McKinney, Thos. B, Hill, both of whom repre- 
sented the county in the loAv^er branch of the Legislature ; Jeff 
J. Meek, John E. Dickens, W. B. Dickens; the family of Killa- 
brew, E. N. Childress, a member of the Legislature from the 
county ; Isaac N. Davis, familiarly known as ^'Panola Davis," 
who served the county as State Senator for four years ; Thos. F. 
Wilson, William and John H. Keith, J. T. M. Burnbridge, the 
first probate judge after the organization of the county; J. C. 
Armstrong, first clerk of the county; Jas. L. Fletcher, L. J. 
Taylor, the father of Hon. Eobert L. Taylor, a lawyer of dis- 
tinction, who has been prominent in Mississippi politics for a 
number of years ; he served the county one term in the State 
Senate, and was in 1889 a popular candidate for the nomination 
of Governor, and was a delegate from the State at large in the 
Constitutional Convention of 1890 ; Simpson Lester, Monroe 
Kyle, father of Hon. John C. Kyle, who served one term as 
State Senator, two terms as Eailroad Commissioner, and is now 
a member of Congress from the district in which he lives ; Hon. 
Anthony Foster^ who was twice a member of the Legislature 
from the county; David Butts, Dr. Henry Lard, Wilson T. 
Caruthers; Dr. C. K. Caruthers has represented the county in 
both branches of the] Legislature and is now State Senator ; E. 
H. Bolton, George P. Anderson, Garland G. Nelson, Dr. Mc- 
MuUen, Wm. E. Eobertson, E. W. Brahan and W. M. Estelle ; the 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 553 

two latter represented the county in the lower branch of the 
Legislature. 

Much of the lands of Panola county are rich and productive. 
The valleys of the Tallahatchie and Yockona rivers are dotted 
with well improved farms j the soil on these two streams respond 
generously to cultivation, and the same may be said of the up- 
lands, creek and branch bottoms. 

The early towns were Belmont, Burlingham and Panola. The 
present towns are Sardis, the county site, with a population of 
probably 1200 -, Batesville, with a population approximating one 
thousand; Como and Courtland each have a much smaller 
population. This county is divided into two judicial districts, 
Batesville being the seat of justice for the second. 

The principal streams in the count}'' are the Tallahatchie and 
Yockona rivers, Mclver, Long, Peach and Hoatophu creeks. 

The only railroad is the Mississippi and Tennessee, which runs 
very nearly through the center of the county. 

There are 215,529 acres of cleared land in Panola, the average 
value of which per acre, as rendered to the assessor, is $6.98. 
The total value of cleared lands in the county, including incor- 
porated towns, is $1,922,654.00. 

Panola countj' is well watered, has a thrifty and prosperous 
population, with excellent church and educational advantages. 

The population of the county as shown by the census report of 
1890 : whites, 9,064 ; colored, 17,913 ; total 26,977. 

Senators. Representatives. 

1837 John Rayburn. David McKinney. 

iS38-'39 John Rayburn. Thos. B. Hill. 

1S40 Thos. B Hill. R. M. Childress. 

1841 Thos. B. Hill. Anthony B. Foster. 

1842 Thos. B Hill. 

1843 Ihos B. Hill. 

1844 Jno. W. Lampkin. R. W. Brahan. 
1846 Jno. W Lampkin. Anthony Foster. 
1848 J. L. Alcorn. T. F. Wilson. 
1850 J. L. Alcorn. W. M. Estelle. 
1852 J. L. Alcorn. Wm. S. Keith. 
1854 J. L. Alcorn. Jno. R. Dickens. 
l856-'57 I. N. Davis. W. B. Johnson. 
1858 I. N. Davis. T. B. Moseley. 
i859-'6o_'6i J, E. Talliaferro. A. I. Ellis, W. B. Dickens, 
i86i-'62 J. E. Talliaferro F. B. Irby, W. B. Dickens. 
i865-'66--67 H. Mosely. A. I. Ellis, B. F. Irby. 

1870 Jas. H. Pierce. C. Y. Yancy, J. H. Piles. 

1871 Jas. H. Pierce. A. R. Howe, J. H. Piles. 

i872-'73 Jas. H. Pierce. A, R. Howe, J. H. Piles, Jno. Cooke. 

i874-'75 R- H. Taylor. Orange Brunt, Thos. Sykes, D. T. J. Mat- 

thews. 
l876-'77 R. H. Taylor. D. F. Floyd, J. G. Hall, Jr , G. Vaughan. 



554 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

1878 C. B, Vance. H A. Moody, Wm. D. Miller, Jas. M 

Young. 

1880 C. B. Vance. M. T. Wright, S. T. Pollard, A. Fields. 

1882 Jno. C. Kyle. N. C. Knox, J, O. Askew, A. B. Boston. 

1884 Jno. C. Kyle. T- O. Askew, W. W.Caldwell, T. T. Settle. 

1886 J. B, Boothe. Jno. Flower, J. L. McGehee, S". C Cook. 

1888 J. B. Boothe. Tno. Flower. C. K. Caruthers, B. H. Payne 

1890 C. K. Caruthers. A. S. Yarbrough, G. W. Harris, J. H. Jones. 



PEAEL EIVEE COUNTY 

Was established May 11th, 1890, and carved from Hancock and 
Marion counties. The act creating the countj^ conferred author- 
ity upon the Governor to appoint all countj^ officers, and that 
they should hold their respective offices until the next general 
election, and until their successors were qualified. 

The Governor appointed as supervisors, A. F. Eawls, P. E. 
Williams, Jas. Smith, Jos. E. Wheat, Thos. Martin ; Jas. M. 
Shivers, sheriff; Eufus L. Eatliff, circuit and chancery clerk ; 
Eli P. Stewart, assessor ; Andrew Smith, treasurer ; Frank B. 
Lenoir, enumerator. 

Poplarville was made the county site. 

The streams are Crane Creek and a prong of the Abolochitto. 

The population of Pearl Eiver county as shown by the census 
report of 1890: whites, 2,298 j colored, 659 ; total, 2,957. 



PEEEY COUNTY, 

Named in honor of Commodore Oliver Hazzard Perry, was 
established February 3d, 1820. As early as 1806, Samuel Cole- 
man, Thomas and Isaac Carter, a descendant of whom, Hon. 
J. P. Carter, has served in both branches of the Legisla- 
ture, and was a delegate to the Constitutional Convention 
of 1861 and 1890; Eobert Little, John Dease, and his two sons, 
■Ed. and Oliver, and William Griffin, settled on Little Creek. 
The same year Isaac and Joel Lewis located homes on Leaf 
river. The following year Christopher and George B. Dameron, 
David Eeese, Jacob J. H. Morris, alias "Coon Morris," settled in 
the county. From 1808 to 1813, the following persons came to 
the county: Elias Spikes, John B. Jacobs, George D., George C. 
and Young Gaines, Jonathan Thomas, Uriah Millsaps, Eobert 
and Henry Miley, Wm. Herrington,3D4,vid Miley, James Newell, 
Jesse Hinton, John McDonald, Alexander McKenzie, Charles 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 555 

Garvin, Aaron Boulton, Sherrard Bradley, James Dcpriest, 
Pleasant Tisdale, John Draughn, Daniel and David Myers, Mal- 
com McSwain and Henry Barlow. Those from 1815 to 1817, 
were John and Asa Hartfield, Malcolm McCallum, Andrew B. 
Denham, who was sheriff for several terms, Craven P. Moffett, 
Thomas Sumrall, Jonathan and Sanders Tajdor, John Jones and 
Kobert Chaney. John McCallum was the first white child born 
on Leaf Eiver, in what is now Perry co'int3^ Blias Spikes 
built the first mill in the county on Garraway's creek in 1811. 
Soon afterwards Asa Hartfield built a mill near Augusta. Pre- 
vious to the erection of these mills, meal was made by pounding 
corn in mortars. The people at this time traded at St. Stephens, 
in Alabama, making the trip on horseback. In 1814, a Mr. Bart- 
lett brought a trading boat up Leaf river, laden with salt, etc., 
that he exchanged for hides, corn meal, dried venison, hams and 
other produce, which he carried back to Pascagoula. Bartlett 
made regular trips which were announced to the people by the 
blowing of a tin bugle, and it was said he realized large profits. 
He buried several thousand dollars in Spanish coin near the bank 
of Leaf river, a few miles below Augusta, and died without dis- 
closing its whereabouts. It was found in 1854 or '55, by Allen 
Hinton. 

There were many difficulties to contend with in the early set- 
tlement of the county, and boys in their teens cheerfully assumed 
their share of pioneer hardships. Reuben Hartfield, a boy of 
fourteen years of age, rode an Indian pony from Perry county 
via St. Stephens to the Chattahootchie river in Georgia, alone 
and without a guide, following Indian trails, and when necessary, 
swimming rivers and creeks. Alexander McKenzie moved his 
household goods from North Carolina to Perry county, in a 
hogshead made of oak, with an iron axle and drawn by one 
horse. Robert Chaney established the first cattle ranch in the 
county on a creek that now bears his name. 

The towns of the «tounty are Augusta, the county site, Hatties- 
burg, Morristown, Enon and Monroe. 

The principal streams are Leaf river, Bowie, Tallahala, Bogue- 
homa, Thompson, Gaines, Little and Black creeks. 

The New Orleans and North-Eastern Railroad runs through 
the northwestern part of the county. The Gulf and Ship Island 
Railroad when completed will also pass through the county. 

The county is especially adapted to the raising of sheep and 
cattle. Not less than one hundred citizens own each over one 



556 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 



hundred head of sheep, besides cattle in proportion. Ten or 
more persons, own each, not less than five hundred head, and two 
or three persons own each over one thousand head of sheep. 
Two or three persons in the county own each over five hundred 
head of cattle. 

There are 5,433 acres of cleared land in Perry, valued per 
acre, as rendered to the assessor, at $3.12. The total value of 
cleared lands, including incorporated towns, $16,944. 

The population of the county as per census report of 1890 are : 
Whites, 4,569 ; colored, 1,887 ; total, 6,456. 



Senators, 

1821 Isaac R. Nicholson. 

1822 Isaac R. Nicholson. 

1823 Laughlin McKay. 
1825 Laughlin McKay. 
i826-'27 John McLeod. 

1828 John McLeod. 

1829 John McLeod. 

1830 John McLeod. 

1 83 1 Thos. S. Sterling. 
1833 John McLeod. 
1835 Thos. P. Falconer. 
l836-'37 Hanson Alsbury. 

1838 Hanson Alsbury. 

1839 Hanson Alsbury. 
i840-'4i Hanson Alsbury. 

1842 A. W. Ramsey. 

1843 A. W. Ramsey. 
i844-'46 A W. Ramsey. 
i848-'50 A. W. Ramsey. 
1852 A. W. Ramsey. 
1854 A. W. Ramsey. 
1856 T.J. McCaughan. 
1857-58 T. J. McCaughan. 
i859-'6o-'6i W. J. Rankin. 
i86i-'62 W.J. Rankin. 
i865-'66-'67 John F. Smith. 
i87o-'7i Jacob H. Seal. 
i872-'73 Jacob H. Seal. 
1874-75 J- P- Carter. 
l876-'77 J. P. Carter. 

1878 J. P. Carter. 
1880 J. P. Carter. 
1882 Elliott Henderson. 
1884 Elliott Henderson. 
1886 J. L. Morris. 
1888 J. L. Morris. 
1890 A. G. Furguson. 



Representatives. 
R. H. Gilmer, Hugh McDonald. 
J. J, H. Morris. 
David Reese. 
J. J. H. Morris. 
Jacob J. H. Morris. 
Hugh McDonald. 
Abner Carter. 
John Barefield. 
Geo. D, Gaines. 
Abner Carter. 
Abner Carter. 
A. E Dennam. 
Rufus T. Draughn. 
W. D. Joyner. 
W. J. Draughn. 



G. H. Holleman. 
P. J. Myers. 
Julius 13, Kennedy. 

Asa R. Carter. 
Isaac E. Carter. 
Isaac E. Carter. 
G. H. Holliman. 
J. P. Carter. 
Geo. H. Hartfield. 
Thos. S. Ford. 
J. W. Foxworth. 
John Gillis. 
J. W. Denham. 
John Lewis. 
H. M. McCallum. 
J. W. Denham. 
A D. Draughn. 
J. P. Carter. 
A. D. Draughn. 



PIKE COUNTY 

Was established December 9th, 1815. Prior to the organization 
of the county a number of South Carolinians settled on Bogue 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 557 

Chitto I'iver. John Magee, Sr., made the first settlement in the 
latter part of 1811, as did also Wm. Sibley. 

These early pioneers were followed by quite a number of per- 
sons who settled on Bogue Chitto, Magee's creek, Topasaw and 
Tangipahoa ; among whom were Benjamin Baglej^, David Morgan, 
Bedy Goldman, Henry Goldman, Mathew Cox, James McNulty, 
Isaac Sadler, David Cleveland, William Bullock, Thos. Heard, 
William Love, Edmund Andrews, John Brent, Jesse Harper, Vin- 
cent Garner, James Andrews, David McGraw, Henry Eaglan, 
John Bond, Wm. Sibley, Jere Smith, Richard Dillon, Chas. King 
and Isaac Carter. A year later, mostly from the same State, 
came Willis Prescott, George Hartzog, Peter Felder, Solomon 
Cole, Allen Carter, Michael Prescott, John Buck Allen, Derrell 
Martin, Wm. Martin, Hardwiek Vaughn, Green Cook, Wm. Mil- 
ler, James G. McNab, Robert Hundley, Robert Love, Richard 
Smith and Isaac Roberts. In 1814, came Ralph Stovall, Daniel, 
Richard and Henry Quinn, Nathaniel Wells, Samuel Prestidge^ 
Thos. Reeves, Edmund Gatlin, Hiram Terrell, Shadrack Cooper, 
Zachariah Reeves, Allen Carter, Willis Prescott, Peter and Isaac 
Felder and Peter Quinn. The greater portion of the persons 
named located on the streams in the county. At that early day 
the pine woods were covered by switch cane, and afforded a fine 
pasture for stock the entire j^ear. 

The first county site was Jacksonville, on the east side of 
Bogue Chitto river. As the county increased in population, the 
settlers on the west side of the Bogue Chitto insisted upon an 
election for the permanent location of the courthouse. In 1816 
an election was held, resulting in moving the county site to 
Holmesville, west of the river mentioned. Afterwards it was 
removed to Magnolia. John Felder, Laban Bacot, Felix Allen 
and Peter Felder were appointed commissioners to lay off the 
new county site. 

David Dickson, Wra. J. Minton and James J. McNab were del- 
egates to the Convention that fi'amed the Constitution of 1817. 

The first clerk of the court in the county was Henry Quinn, a 
son of Peter Quinn, Sr., who has a number of descendants in the 
county at this time. Some years later S. A. Matthews, Esq., still 
an honored resident of the county, served the people most ac- 
ceptably as clerk. The first sheriff was Laban Bacot, who held 
the office for many years and was noted for his systematic busi- 
ness h'abits. 



558 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

Pike eountj^ was represented in the Constitutional Convention 
of 1832 by James J. McNab and Laban Bacot. 

Since the completion of the Illinois Central Eailroad Pike 
count}" has increased largely in population, and land has appre- 
ciated in value. 

The Illinois Central Railroad runs the entire length of the 
county, north to south, a distance of twenty-five and a half miles. 

The towns situated on the line of railroad are Magnolia, the 
county site, Johnston, Summit, McComb City, Chattawa and 
Osyka. Towns in other portions of the county off the railroad 
are Walker's Iron Bridge, Tylertown, China Grove and Sartins- 
ville. 

At McComb City there are shops and round-houses for the 
southern division of the Illinois Central Railroad, where they 
employ a large number of operatives in building coaches, loco- 
motives, etc. 

Summit is a thrifty and prosperous town, with an intelligent 
and law-abiding population, and the same may properly be said 
of Magnolia and McComb City. 

The principal streams are Bogue Chitto river, Magee's, Otouto- 
pasa^ Carter's, Leatherwood, Sweetwater, Tangipahoa, Beaver, 
Clear, Lazy, Pushapata, Varnell, Terry's, Balachitto, Kirkland's 
and Darbone creeks. 

Pike county has 69,094 acres of cleared land ; average value 
per acre being $6.98. Total value of cleared lands, including in- 
corporated towns, $912,509. 

The population of this county as shown by the census report 
of 1890: Whites, 10,531 ; colored, 10,672; total, 21,203. 
Senators. Representatives. 

1820 David Dickson. Vincent Garner, D. Cleveland, Wm. Dick- 

son. 

1821 David Dickson. Win. Dickson, James Robinson, Vincent 

Garner. 

1522 William Spencer. Wiley P. Harris, Wm. Dickson, James Y. 

McNabb. 

1523 William Spencer. John Burton, R. Davidson, D. Cleveland. 

1825 Wiley P. Harris. D. Cleveland, P. Quinn, Jr , N. Wells. 

1826 Wiley P. Harris. D. Cleveland, W. Dickson, V. Garner. 

1827 Wiley P. Harris. D. Cleveland, Peter Quinn. 

1828 Wiley P. Harris. D. Cleveland, Wm. Dickson. 
1S29 Wiley P. Harris, D. Cleveland, R. Davidson. 
1830 D. Cleveland. A. Cunningham, S. Shope. 
i.Nji Wm. C. Cage. John Gwin, Franklin Love. 
1833 Franklin Love. Wm. G. Martin, Jesse Harper. 

1835 Jesse Harper. Wm. G. Martin, Jesse Harper, Franklin 

Love. 

1836 James Y. McNabb. Franklin Love, A. P. Cunningham. 

1837 A. P. Cunningham, Hardy Carter. 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 



559 



838-'39 Cornelius Trawick. 
830 Franklin Love. 

841 Franklin Love. 

842 Christian Hoover. 

843 James B. Quinn. 

844 James B. Quinn. 
846 George Nicholson. 
848 E. McCoy Davis. 
S50 E. McCoy Davis. 
852 J. M. Nelson. 
854 J. M. Nelson. 
856-'57 Franklin Love. 
858 Franklin Love. 
859-'6o-'6i J. B. Chrisman. 
861-62 J. B. Chrisman. 
S65-'66-'67 W. F. Cain. 
870-'7i John Gartman. 
872-'73 H. Cassedy, Jr. 
874 H. Cassedy, Jr. 
^74~'75 J- f" Sessions. 
876-'77-'78 R. H. Thompson. 
880 A. H, Longino. 

8S2 A. H. Longino. 
884 Samuel E. Packwood. 
886 Samuel E. Packwood. 
888 Theo. B. Ford. 
890 Theo. B. Ford. 



Thomas Dennian, W. A. Stone. 

Jesse Harper, James Cunningham. 

Hiram Terrell, Benjamin W. Leggett. 

Benjamin W. Leggett, Hiram Terrell. 

Benjamin \V. Leggett, Hiram Terrell. 

Benjamin W. Leggett. 

E. Rushing, Wm. Simmons. 

Jesse Biumtield. 

S. A. Matthews. 

James G. H. Sasser. 

Ross A. Ellzy. 

Levy Bacot. 

D. C. Quinn. 

H. E. Weathersby. 

J. O. Magee. 

J. W. Huffman. 

W. H. Roane. 

Vincent J. Wroten. 

Samuel E. Packwood. 

Samuel E. Packwood. 

James M. Causey. 

James C. Lampkin. 

W. F. Simmons. 

Jas. C. Lamkin, Geo. M. Govan. 

T. F. Causey, J. M. Bates. 

J. H. Crawford, S. M. Simmons. 

John B. Leggett, Theo. McKnight. 



PONTOTOC COUNTY 

Was established February 9tb, 1836. John Bell, Samuel L. 
Watt, Kobert Tenning, Eobert Gordon and John D. Bradford 
were, by an act of the Legislature approved February 14th, 
1836, appointed commissioners to organize the county. 

The first settlement made by the Chickasaw Indians was at 
Chickasaw Old Fields, originally in Pontotoc, but now in Lee 
county. This place is some fifteen miles east of the town of 
Pontotoc. 

General Jackson, with his troops, on their march from Tennes- 
see to New Orleans, camped three miles southeast of the town 
of Pontotoc on Chiwappa Creek. It was near this stream that 
the treaty between the Chickasaws and the United States govern- 
ment was made. Stephen Daggett, one of the earliest pioneers, 
was a witness to the treaty. 

One of the mission schools in the Chickasaw Nation was es- 
tablished six miles south of Pontotoc by Eev. T. C. Stewart, a 
Presbyterian minister. This pioneer divine organized the first 
church in the county, at the same place, and called Monroe. 
The original members of this organization represented three 
nationalities, to-wit: three whites, one Indian and one negro. 



560 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

Eobert Bell was a Cumberland Presbyterian minister to the Chick- 
asaw Indians. The first Baptist church organized in the county 
was Tockshish, some ten miles south of Pontotoc. The Ponto- 
toc circuit of the Methodist Episcopal Church South was organ- 
ized in 1836. Eeverends L. Bonner and James Callaway, two 
local preachers, supplied the work that year, E. Alexander be- 
ing the presiding elder. 

Among the early settlers of the county were John Bell, who 
served two terms as State Senator; P. H. Fontaine, Col. Eobert 
Gordon, W. H. Duke, who was a member of the State Senate ; 
Jas. W. Drake, Judge Joel Pinson, J. N. Wiley, W. Y.Gholson, C. 
W. Martin, S. J. High, Solomon Clarke, Jack Edmonson, E. Bolton, 
G. W. Eeneau, Dr. Marshall Weatherall, Dr. Figret, Dr. C. P. Cof- 
fin, Dr. Hannah, J. P. Carr, N. W. Dandridge, Thos. B. Dandridge, 
T. C. McMackin, the hotel celebrity ; Samuel Watts, Sam.uel 
Bigham, Stephen Trelkeld, Mark Hardin, T. L. Duncan, Eobert 
Handley, Eev. John Haynes, Solomon Stegall, Isaac Bell, J. J. 
Wilson, Hugh E. Miller, circuit judge ; Andrew Miller, J. A* 
McNeill, Benjamin Earl, Dr. Hereford, J. T. Eay, Wm. Brad- 
ford, Willis W. Cherry, the first Eepresentative of the county ; 
D. P. Anderson^ and John A. Bradford, both of whom were 
Eepresentatives ; Jefi" Wilson, who represented the county in 
both branches of the Legislature. Hon. James Gordon was a 
member of the Legislature from the county, first in 1857 and 
again in 1878. 

The county site, Pontotoc, was incorporated May, 1837. It 
was here that the land office was located and the land sales 
made, and was also the location of the Chickasaw Land Bank, 
and for a number of years the United States Court was held at 
Pontotoc. 

Among the principal water courses in the county are Mud, 
Lapatubbee, Jockana, Scoona, Chookatonkchie, Coonawa and 
Chiwappa creeks. 

The Gulf & Ship Island Eailroad is completed from Middleton, 
Tennessee, to Pontotoc, there being about twelve miles of rail- 
way in the county. 

The first newspaper published in the county was called the 
Chickasaw Union, and edited by W. W. Leland. 

There are 95,981 acres of cleared land in the county, the aver- 
age value per acre of which, as rendered to the assessor, is $3.27 j 
total value of cleared lands, including incorporated towns, $416,- 
658. 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPrr. 



561 



Pontotoc is a fair county of lands, her people intelligent and 
hospitable, with flourishing schools and numerous churches. 

The population as shown by the census report of 1890 : Whites, 
10,529; colored, 4,411; total 14,940. 



Senators. 
1857 John Bell. 
i838-'39 John Bell. 

1840 John Bell. 

1841 Wm. H. Duke. 
i842-'43 John H. Miller. 
i844-'46 Russell O. Beene. 
1S48 John A. Bradford. 
1850 John Bell. 

1S52 John Bell. 
1854 B. R. Webb, . 

1856 B. R. Webb. 

1857 B. R. Webb. 

1858 Jefferson Wilson. 

1859 Jefferson Wilson. 
i86o-'6i Jefferson Wilson. 
i86i-'62 Jeffei'son Wilson. 

i865-'66-'67 Jefferson Wilson. 



1870 
1871 

1872- 

1874- 

1876- 

1878 

1880 

1882 

1884 

1886 

1888 

1890 



J. C Shoup. 
W. L. Lyles. 
■'73 W. L. Lyles. 
'75 J. A. McNeil, 
'77 J. A. McNeil 
W. L. Lorance. 
W. L. Lorance. 
Chas. B. Mitchell. 
Chas. B. Mitchell. 
Wm. T. Houston. 
Wm. T. Houston. 
R. Wharton. 



Representatives. 
Willis W. Cherry. 
B. D. Anderson. 
John A. Bradford. 
John A. Bradford. 
H. R Miller, John A. Bradford. 
Chas. D. Fontaine, E. Millsaps. 
J. Barden, Wm. Melton, Henry Duke. 
B. R. Webb, J. Barden, W. H. Baker. 
J. C. Jones, J. Barden, Jeff Wilson. 
Jacob Barden, 

E. R. Smith, R. Pinson, J. B. Herring. 
Jas. Gordon, R. Pinson, J. B. Herring. 
R. A. Pinson, D. Prude, Thos. Wood. 
R. A. Pinson, B. F. McWhorter. 
B. F. McWhorter, W. T. Holmes. 

B. A. Rogers, C. F. Bowls, J. W. Willis, 

D. Alsup. 
J. L. Morphis,' J. M. Burton, B. F. Mc- 
Whorter. 

C. B. Mitchell, S. H. Wood. 
C. B. Mitchell, S H. Wood. 
C. R. Wharton. 

Thomas Stockstill. 

Gilbert G. Horton, B. F. McWhorter. 

Jas. Gordon, Jeff. WiJ.son. 

Jeff Wilson, C. S. Robertson. 

W. W. Finley, N. M. Berry. 

Jeff. Wilson, Z. M. Stevens. 

T. J. Crawford, Jas. Gordon. 

C. B. Mitchell, M. L. Henry. 

S. H. Pitts, Jeff D, Potter. 



PEENTISS COUNTY 

Was established April 7th, 1870, and named in memory of Sar- 
gent S. Prentiss, the distinguished lawyer, statesman and peer- 
less orator of Mississippi. It was formed out of territory taken 
from Tishomingo, and the act creating it provided for an equita- 
ble distribution of the school and other county funds, and that 
the new county should pay its proportion of the then existing 
debt of Tishomingo. 

The names of the first settlers in what is now known as Pren- 
tiss county appear in the record of those in Tishomingo. The first 
State Senator from the count}' was Grovernor J. M. Stone, and 
the first Eepresentative in the Lower House, Hugh M. Street, 
who was elected Speaker. 
36 



562 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 



Prentiss is an excellent county of lands and the people fairly 
prosperous. 

The princial towns in the county are Booneville, the county 
site, Beulah. Baldwyn, Old Cairo, Ema^ Carrollsville^ Marietta, 
Hickory Plains, and Hazel Dell. 

The streams of this county form the headwaters of the Tom- 
bigbee river, among which are Eigs, Brown, Hurricane and 
Twenty Mile creeks. 

The Mobile and Ohio Eailroad traverses the county from north 
to south. 

Prentiss has 56,030 acres of cleared land ; average value per 
acre, $3.72. Total value, including incorporated towns, $291,- 
674. 

The population as shown by the census returns of 1890 — 
Whites, 10,767 ; colored, 2,912 ; total, 13,679. 



Senators. 

1872-73 John M. Stone. 
1874-75 John M. Stone. 
1876 John M. Stone. 
1877-78 John D, Bills. 
1880 John D. Bills. 
1882 F. M. Boone. 
1884 F. M. Boone. 
1886 F. M. Boone. 
1888 F. M. Boone. 
1890 C. Kendrick. 



Representatives. 

Hugh M. Street, C. B, Cuilee. 
Hugh M. Street, J. L. Reese. 
Hugh M. Street, W. I. Gibson. 
Hugh M. Street, W. I. Gibson. 
Turner Bynum, W, H. Reese. 
B. A. P. Selman, W. H. Reese. 
B. A. P. Selman, T. H. Underwood. 
B A. P. Selman, J. P. Carraway. 
E. Alexander, H. H. Ray. 
E. Alexander, W. Y. Baker. 



CHAPTER XXXII. 



QUITMAN COUNTY 

WAS established February 1st, 1877, and named in memory 
of Governor John A. Quitman. By the terms of the act, 
authority was epnferred on the Governor to appoint county 
officers who were to hold their respective offices until their suc- 
cessors were elected and qualified. 

Quitman being a new county, its history and the names of the 
pioneers who first located in the territory now comprising it is 
interwoven and to be found in the counties out of which it was 
formed, Coahoma, Tallahatchie and Panola, mainly out of the 
former. 

The towns in the county are Belen, the county site, and Marks. 

The streams are the Coldwater river, which runs through the 
center of the county from north to south, Hopson's and Opossum 
bayous and Indian creek. 

Quitman county has 10,277 acres of cleared lands; average 
value per acre, 811.23 ; total value, including incorporated towns 
$119,059. 

The population as shown by the census report of 1890 whites, 

888; colored, 2,397 ; total, 3,285. 

Senators. Representatives. 

^878 James B. Perkins. 

1880 \V. J. Nelson. 

1882 G. W. Gayles. T. C. Furgeson. 

i884-'86 John J. Gage. L. Marks. 

1888 J. N. McLeod. J. A. Reed. 

1890 J. N. McLeod. J. A. Cooper. 



EANKIN COUNTY 

Was established February 4th, 1828, and was named in memory 
of Christopher Eankin. It was formed out of that portion of 
Hinds county lying east of Pearl river. 
John Brown, William Steen and Elijah Gentry were appointed 



564 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

commissioners to locate the county town and contract for the 
building of a court-house and jail. 

The town was named Brandon, in honor of Grovernor Gerard 
C. Brandon, and became famous in an early day as the domicile 
of the Brandon Bank. 

Among the early settlers of the county were Isaac B. Norrell^ 
who has two sons now residing in the county, Jesse S. Nor- 
rell, the present venerable County Treasurer, approaching his 
eightieth year, and Thomas Norrell, who has served the county 
in the Legislature ; William Steen, Eobert Steen, Silas Steen, 
who was probably the first sheriff of the county ; John R. Enochs, 
Archie Laird, John George, the Webbs, Thomas Bird, Simon 
Williams, Joel Lewis, Henson Williams, John Rankin, Wright 
Fore, Daniel Fore, Joseph Bennett, for a number of years Chan- 
cery Clerk, and subsequently State Senator ; Robert Wofford, R. 
G. Crozier, General T. J. Coffee, who served as State Senator j 
Washington Coffee, Dr. Samuel M. Puckett, James Neely, W. 
Jones, Beasly Campbell, Wiley R. Parker, who was probably 
the first Clerk of the Circuit Court ; John Griffith, the Purvis',. 
Nehemiah Magee, A few years later, were Col. William H. Shel- 
ton, (president of the famous Brandon Bank), Dr. S. C. Farrar, 
who was an eminent physician, and subsequently enjoyed an ex- 
tensive and lucrative practice in the city of Jackson, was the 
father of Mrs. Hunter, the wife of the distinguished divine, 
Rev. Dr. John Hunter, of Jackson ; Joseph A. Furgeson, who 
served the county acceptably for many years as circuit clerk, 
and is still living at the advanced age of eighty -four years ; Major 
Robert Maxey, who for more than a third of a century was a 
leading and successful merchant ; he left a large family of chil- 
dren, some of whom still reside in the county ; one son, Thomas 
Shelton Maxey, is now a Judge of the United States Court in the 
State of Texas, appointed by President Cleveland. Judge Maxey 
is an able jurist, a cultured gentleman, and wears the judi- 
cial ermine with credit to himself and honor to the Lone Star 
State; Daniel W. Wilkinson, the grandfather of the young men, 
Daniel W. and Guy Wilkinson, merchants in the city of Jack- 
son ; Henry F. Shelton, for long years a merchant and subse- 
quently sheriff of the county ; Wm. C. Harper and Andrew 
Harper, twin brothers, the former a lawyer of distinguished 
abilitj' and scholarly attainments. His widow, now eighty-three 
years of age, lives at the old homestead, and a son, Captain Wm. 
A. Harper, and a daughter, Mrs. Livingston Mims, reside in At- 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 565 

lanta, Georgia, both of whom are persons of rare culture and ex- 
tensive information ; Dr. Wm. Eeber, a physician of marked in- 
telligence, who has a number of descendants in the vicinity ; Drew 
Fitzhugh, who served the county as Chancery Clerk for a number 
of years^ and the father of the able and worthy President of the 
Whitworth Female College, Lewis T. Fitzhugh, referred to else- 
where ; John B. Burke, James Gardener, Eufus Hardy, Andrew 
King, Dr. Jno. W. King, who served as Speaker of the House of 
Representatives; Thomas S. White, who represented the county 
in the Legislature, and left surviving him three sons, the eldest 
of whom. Dr. Henry White, is a prominent physician, practicing 
his pi'ofession in Brandon; John S. Gooeh, Z. P. Wardell, Wm. 
Cooper, Eichard Cooper, who served twelve years as District 
Attorney ; Eev. Hiram Jones, a Baptist minister widely known 
and greatly respected for his Christian virtues ; was the father 
of W. H. Jones, a former member of the Legislature from Smith 
county, and the late Jesse Jones, clerk of the courts of that 
county, and the step-father of Sol. Dobson, the present worthy 
and efficient sheriff of Eankin county; Starling Jones, Jere- 
miah Eussell, John and Ehpraim Eussell, the Ehodes', embrac- 
ing a large family — two of whom, of the younger members, 
Lewis D. and Samuel P. Ehodes, filled acceptably the office of 
sheriff of the county ; the Myers', Kersh's, and Colliers', large 
families that settled in the eastern part of the county ; Captain 
Seymour, A. P. Miller, who accumulated a large fortune — father 
of Charles C. Miller, a prominent lawyer of the city of Meridian, 
and George Miller, who resides on the old homestead ; Joseph 
Hudnall, who made a comfortable fortune previous to the war; 
Isaac Alexander, L. W. Petrie, Alexander McDonald, who 
served as Probate Judge ; Col. John S. Hobson, a gentleman of 
comfortable fortune, who served the county many years as Presi- 
dent of the Board of Supervisors ; Col. Eichard Hobson, subse- 
quently a leading merchant in Jackson ; B. F. H. Lamb, (for forty 
years depot agent at Brandon); Gabriel Shelton, Frank Lynch, 
Judge James Finley, the father of Col. Luke Finley, a distin- 
guished lawyer in the city of Memphis, and Hon. Geo. P. Finley, 
a prominent lawyer in the city of Galveston, Texas ; Dr. John 
A. Pearson, Dr. M. W. Phillips, W. M. Laban, and Washington 
Taylor, Tidus Lane, Captain Thomas Shelton, John B. Lewis, 
who represented the county in the Legislature ; Dr. French, 
Lewis Batte, William H. Batte, who served the county in the 
Legislature ; the Eoss', F. H. C. Dent, David Williams, William 



566 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

Denson, George N. Langford, Sr., and his son Judge George N. 
Langford. 

Bi'andon, the county site, is among, if not the very highest 
point from Vicksburg, via Jackson, to Montgomery, Alabama, 
and unsurpassed in point of health. 

Brandon was for years the terminus of the Vicksburg and 
Meridian railroad, and the trading point for several adjacent 
counties, during which time it was by far the most important 
commercial point in the eastern counties. 

It has alwaj'S maintained and supported a superior female 
school. The Brandon Female College has for a quarter of a 
century been presided over by Miss Frank Johnston, who is one 
of the most thorough educators in the State. She has devoted 
her life to teaching, and it may be said without disparagement to 
others, that she has, in the pursuit of her profession contributed 
more largely to the intelligence and culture of the vicinity than 
any other person that could be mentioned. 

The towns in the county are Brandon, the county site, Steens 
Creek, Cato, Pelahatchie, Fannin and Armstead. 

The principal streams are Pearl river, Steens, Mountain, 
Campbells, Purvis, Eichland, Tumbalo, Pelahatchie, Funny, 
gusha and Eed Cane creeks. 

The Vicksburg and Meridian railroad runs through the county 
from east to west. 

The lands of the county average well, and by good cultiva- 
tion give generous yields. 

There are 124,711 acres of cleared land in Eankin county, the 
average value of which, as rendered to the assessor, is $3.91 per 
acre. Total value of cleared lands, including incorporated towns, 
$618,773. 

The population of this county as shown by the census report 
of 1890 : whites, 7,454 ; colored, 10,467 ; total, 17,921. 

Senators. Representatives. 

1829 Henry W. Vick. Alexander Chisholm. 

1830 Heniy W. Vick. Nehemiah McGee. 

183 1 Jas. F. Trotter. Thos. J. Coffee. 
1833 Geo. Higgason. N. G. Howard. 

1835 Stephen Cocke. N. G. Howard. 

1836 Stephen Cocke. Thos. J. CoflFee, Dr. J. W. King. 

1837 Thos. J. Coffee. Sam'l M. Puckett, Dr. J. W. King. 
i838-'39 Thos. J. Coftee. Dr. Jno. W. King, Samuel M. Puckett. 
i840-'4i T. J. Coffee. Daniel Fore, Samuel M. Puckett. 
1842-43 Geo. T. Swann. T. P. Ware. 

1844 Geo. T. Swann. Robert Maxey, Elisha Stephens. 

1846 Geo. T. Swann. Dr. S. C. Farrar, J. Y. McNabb. 

i848-'5o Dr. I. V. Hodges. Francis J. Lynch. 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 



567 



1852 Joseph Bennett. 
1854 loseph Bennett, 
i856-'57 B F. Reynolds. 
1858 B. F. Reynolds. 
i859-'6o-'6i I. M. Quinn. 
i86i-'62 I. M. Qiiinn, 

1865 Robert Lowry. 

1866 Robert Lowry. 

1867 Jesse Ellis. 

1870 Joseph Bennett, Chas. Cald- 

well. 

1 87 1 Joseph Benne*^t, Chas. Cald- 

well. 

i872-'73 Joseph Bennett, Charles 
Caldwell. 

i874-'75 Joseph Bennett, Charles 
Caldwell. 

1876-77 Amos. R. Johnston, J. 
L. McCaskill. 

1878 W, A. Montgomery, J. L. 
McCaskill. 

1880 Wm. Ratlift, Jas. D. Stew- 
art. 

1882 Wm. Ratliff, Jas. D. Stew- 
art. 

1884 Jas. S. Eaton. 

1886 Wm. Buchanan. 

1888 Wm. Bachanan. 

1890 Dr. J. H. Hill. 



Thos. S. White. 

Joseph M. Jayne. 

Joseph M. Jayne. 

H. R. Ware. 

H. R. Ware, Duncan McRae. 

W. C. Harper, W. H. Batte. 

W. K. Easterling, Geo. W. Brooks. 

W. K. Easterling, Geo. W. Brooks. 

Thos. S. Maxey, G. N. Langford. 

G. N. Langford, Thos. J. Catchings. 

Robert Lowry, Dr. S. D. Robbins. 

J. W. McFarland, Wilson Hicks. 

Francis T. Gayden, Joseph M. Jayne, Jr. 

Pat Henry, S. W. Robinson. 

A. J. McLaurin, T. N. Norrell. 

Wm. Buchanan, J. D. W. Duckwortk. 

I no. Russell, Jno. R. Enochs. 
Jno. Russell, W. O. Norrell. 
L. H. Babb, Henry L. Jackson. 
Pat Henry, W. A. Loflin. 



SCOTT COUNTY 

Was established December 23d, 1833, and was so named in honor 
of Governor Abram M. Scott. The commissioners appointed to 
organize the countj were John J. Smith, Gilbert D. Gore, James 
S. Jolly, Samuel Hawthorn, Morgan McAfee, F. Carr, Joe Bogan, 
John E. Dunn, D. W. Hopkins, Sr., John P. Smith, Robert Laird, 
James Boykin and James Furlow. 

The following persons were appointed by said commissioners 
members of the board of police : John Dunn, James Eusseli, 
Wade H! Holland, Stephen Berry and Jeremiah B. White. The 
board met on the 7th day of April, 1834, and organized by elect- 
ing John Dunn, president, and Stephen Berry, clerk pro tem. 

The first election held in the county was on the 18th and 19th 
of April, 1834. John Smith was elected sheriff, and Nicholas 
Finley, clerk. The first probate judge was Wm. Ricks. The first 
county site was Berryville, three miles south of Forest. 

Volney E. Howard, a gentleman of varied accomplishments, 
by profession a lawyer, a native of Maine, was the second mem- 
ber of the Legislature from Scott county. After the adj'ourn- 



568 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

merit of that body, he remained at Jackson, and in connection 
with his brother, Bainbridge Howard, purchased the Mississip- 
pian and edited that journal for sometime. Owing to political 
differences he became involved in a duel with Joseph Boschell, a 
bright man and journalist, in which the latter was seriously 
wounded. For similar cause he fought a duel with ex-Governor 
Eunnels and was himself seriously wounded. Mr. Howard filled 
the position of law reporter with credit to himself and honor to 
the State. He left Mississippi long years ago and located in 
Texas, from which State he was elected to Congress. Subse- 
quently he removed to California, where he became prominent 
and distinguished as u lawyer, and where he died last j^ear. 

The following were among the early settlers of the county, 
to-wit: Major R. W. Roberts, who is remembered as a prominent 
and worthy citizen, and elected to Congress before the formation 
of Congressional Districts; John J. Smith, Landon Butler, Dan- 
can Smith, Greorge D. Keahey, S. J. Denson, Stephen Berry, 
Jonathan Summers, Alfred Eastland, Abner Lack, Meshack Pat- 
rick, Joseph Hunt, William Ricks, J. B. White, J. M. Finley, 
Cullen C. Coward, Thomas Segreath, Gabe Fields, Thomas Slay, 
Isaac Carr ; the late A. B. Smith, familiarly known as "Dick 
Smith," son of John J. Smith, was the first white child born in 
Scott county; he was regarded by his professional brethren as an 
excellent criminal and land lawyer ; was the father-in-law of Col. 
Thomas B. Graham, who is now, and has been, for fourteen years, 
chancellor of the eighth chancery district. 

The county site was established in 1836 at Hillsboro, which 
was well located, and grew to be a prosperous, thrifty little 
town. The courthouse remained there for thirty years, when 
it was removed to Forest on the Vicksburg andMeridian Rail- 
road, which is a trading point for a considerable area of country. 

In addition to the towns mentioned in the county, there are 
Morton, Lake and Harpersville ; the two first are immediately on 
the Vicksburg and Meridian Railroad, and do a very satisfactory 
mercantile business. Harpersville is especially noted for its 
educational facilities; it does now, and has for years, maintained 
a most excellent school, which is liberally patronized by the 
people ol the surrounding country. 

The principal streams in the county are Strong and Leaf rivers , 
Tuscalameta, Tala Bogue, Nutuckala, Shockala and Coffee Bogue 
creeks. 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 



569 



The Vicksburg and Meridian Eailroad runs through the county 
about twenty-five miles. 

The bottom and prairie lands produce well, and the hill lands 
by fertilization give remunerative crops. The people are con- 
tented and prosperous. 

Scott county has 42,238 acres of cleared land; the average 
value per acre as rendered to the assessor, is $5.38. Total value 
of cleared lands, including incorporated towns, is $305,164. 

The population of this county as shown by the census report 

of 1890: Whites, 6,917; colored, 4,700 ; total, 11,617. 

Senators. 

835 
836 

837 Oliver C. Dease. 

838 Oliver C. Dease. 
S39 Oliver C. Dea-e. 

840 John C Thomas. 

841 John C. Thomas, 

842 John C. Thomas. 

843 John C. Thomas. 

844 Simeon R. Adams. 
846 Simeon R. Adams. 
848 O. R. Singleton. ^ 
850 O. R. Singleton. _ 
852 O. R. Singleton. 
854 \Vm. McWillie. 

856 S. J. Denson. 

857 S. J. Denson. 

858 S. J Denson. 
S59 J. R. Davis. 
86o-'6i J. R. Davis. 
86i-'62 Oliver A. Luckett. 
865-'66-'67 Mathew Lyle. 
870-'7i Thomas J Hardy. 
S72-'73 John Watts. 
874-'75 T. B. Graham. 

876 T B. Graham. 

877 H. C. McCabe. 

878 Asa R. Carter. 
880 Asa R. Carter. 
882 1 homas Keith. 
884 Thomas Keith. 
886 R. P. Austin. 
888 R. P. Austin. 
890 A. M Byrd. 



Rkpresentatives. 
Jeremiah B. White. 
Volney E, Howard. 
John Dunn. 
Robert W. Roberts. 
Robert W. Roberts. 
Robert W. Roberts. 
Robert W. Boberts. 
Robert W. Roberts. 
Robert W. Roberts. 
John J. Smith. 
A. H. Metcalf. 
A. H. Metcalf. 
A. H. Metcalf. 
David R. Jones. 
S. J. Smith. 
S. J. Smith. 
E. Rush Buckner. 
J. W. Woflord. 
David R. Jones. 
David R. Jones. 
Mathew Lyle. 
Thomas B. Graham. 
John G. Owens. 
John Gaddis. 
J. G. Crecelius. 
Green B. Huddleston. 
Green B. Huddleston. 
A. C. Farmer. 
Mathew Lyle. 
Mathew Lyle. 
Joseph H Beeman. 
Joseph H. Beeman. 
Joseph H. Beeman. 
Joseph H. Beeman 



SIMPSON COUNTY 

Was established January 23d, 1824, named in memory of the late 
Hon. Josiah Simpson. Westville, the county site, was named in 
honor of Col. Cato West. 

By an act of the Legislature approved February 1st, 1825, the 



570 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

place designated for holding courts in the county was the house 
of William Gibson. 

On the 27th of January, 1827, Westville was declared the per- 
manent county site, and that the several courts of record should 
thereafter be held in said town, at such place as the sherifif should 
provide until a courthouse could be erected. 

Among the first settlers of the county was a man by the name 
of Vaughn, for whom Vaughn's creek was named. He was fol- 
lowed soon after by the Briggs family, one of whom, James 
Briggs, was at an early day elected sheriff of the county ; his wife 
survived him, and lived to be nearly one hundred years of age ; 
she was the great-gi'andmother of A. J. Eaglan and Mrs. J. I. 
Bishop, who now reside in the county ; James McDuff, a man of 
thrift and energy, built the first mill on Vaughn's creek ; Jacob 
Keen and Elder James Powell, a highly esteemed Baptist minis- 
ter, lived near the location made by Mr. Vaughn ; Beasly Camp- 
bell was an early settler, for whom Campbell's Creek was named ; 
he was the grandfather of Dr. Noah Gibson, who still resides in 
the county, and of Mrs. Dr. Wm. Finch, now a resident of Texas. 
The lands on and adjacent to Campbell's Creek now support a 
thrifty and industrious population, among whom are some of the 
descendants of the early settlers, notably, the Sinclairs, Colquo- 
hoons and others ; Pipkin Smith was among the first settlers on 
Silver Creek, nearly seventy years ago, and although within fiftj' 
miles never visited the State capital ; Tobias Smith, German 
Berry, Eev. James Murray, Eli Myers, Jeremiah Fortenberry, 
Isaac Fortenberry, Willis and Wilson Huckaby, James M. Dam- 
pier, who was a member of the Legislature for several terms ; 
Henry Beasly^ Lewis Hollyfield, Elbert and Gilbert Shivers, 
John P. Toler, Isaac Newsom, E. Downs, at one time probate 
judge of the county; Wm. Gates, Wm. Drummonds, Joseph Lane, 
Levi Banks, M. A. Banks, who served the county some j^ears as 
clerk, and also in both branches of the Legislature, resided near 
this stream. Prior to the organization of the county John Berry, 
the ancestor of many of that name in Simpson, settled on Silver 
Creek, also James Bogan, Eev. Frances Walker, W. T. Brown, 
Owen Weathersby and Stephen Gardner; Phillip Magee, who 
has numerous descendants now in the count\% located at an early 
day on Good Water Creek; John Price, Benjamin Thornton, 
Archie McCullom, D. A. McLaurin, J. C. McLaurin and James 
Lee and the Mclntyres were among the first settlers on Bowie. 
John Graves, Joseph Carr, Duncan McLaurin and Jacob Grubbs 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 571 

were early settlers on Skiflfa. John McElhaney, Eggleston 
Overby, father of Peter Overby and the late Geo. W. O. Overby, 
and Abram Cook, opened farms on Eocky Creek. 

The first settlers on Strong Eiver were David Bishop, father 
of Jas. I. Bishop, now a merchant in Westville, and others in 
the county ; John Phillips, the Alfords, David Quinn. Jas. Mc- 
Caskill, Jas. Taylor, the Lees, William May, who served the 
county as probate judge, and whose son, Albert Q. May, has 
served several terms as sheriff and clerk of the county, and was 
a popular candidate in 1889 for State Treasurer; Jas. May, Bed- 
ford Gates, Kheasa Kennedy ; the Ponders, the Laytons, David 
Womack, Brewster Jayne, L. C. Gibson, T. J. Perkins, Lewis 
Harper, Alex McNair, father of Hon. John E. McNair, who was 
for a number of years circuit judge of the district, and the 
father of Hon. Alex. C. McNair, member of the Legislature irom 
Lincoln, and E. W. McNair, present sheriff of Lincoln county ; 
Peter Hubbard, Eli Smith, John Gregory, Nathan Bush, Matthew 
Thomas, Templeton Tullis, Wm. Hayes, Asa Miller, Nathaniel 
Goff and Dempsey Touchstone, the latter the father of G. P. 
Touchstone, who served acceptably as probate judge of the 
county, and has reached his three score years and ten, and is 
much beloved by the people of the county. The Judge's father 
built the first gin in the county. John Eichardson erected the 
first mill on Limestone Creek. The Barlows, Barbers, Jonathan 
Bass, Edward Brown and Thos. Hilton. 

Stephen Tullis was sheriff when the county was organized, 
and was succeeded by Daniel S. Farrington. C. K. Brown was 
one of the first clerks. Brewster H. Jayne was among the first 
probate judges, and represented the county in 1838 and 1839. 
J. E. Mendenhall, who served the county as probate judge and 
one term in the Legislature. Franklin E. Plummer was the first 
lawyer who located in Westville and the third Eepresentative of 
the county, and was afterwards a Eepresentative in Congress ; 
Gideon Eyals and John Hayes, the Suttons, the Durrs, Albrit- 
tons, Mangums, Pattersons and Moores were among the early 
settlers, as was Hon. Green Fenn, who served acceptably as 
probate judge, and was highly respected in the county. 

J. K. Stratton was a native of Massachusetts and made his ad- 
vent into Simpson as a shoemaker. He was successful at his 
trade and devoted such time as he could spare to the study of 
law, was admitted to the bar and did a reasonably good practice. 
He subsequently was a candidate for district attorney, but was 



572 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

defeated by O. F. MeCarty. He enlisted in the Mexican war, and 
afterwards went to Califoi*nia, where he accumulated a comforta- 
ble fortune. 

Fifty-five years ago the county was represented by Alex. Mc- 
Caskill, the father of Hon. Jas. L. McCaskill, who held the rank 
of captain in the Confederate army, and after the war was a 
candidate for and elected Secretary of State on the State ticket 
headed by Governor B. Gr. Humphreys. The Democratic ticket 
-succeeded in defeating the objectionable constitution, and as a 
consequence the several candidates did not get the offices to 
which they were respectively elected. Capt. McCaskill was 
afterwards one of the Senators from Rankin and Hinds, and later, 
under President Cleveland's administration. United States Con- 
sul to the city of Dublin in Ireland. Alexander was also the 
father of Lawrence W. McCaskill, who served the county a 
number of years as clerk. 

Later, J. L. Mendenhall, a brother of Judge Mendenhall, came 
to the county. He was for a number of years clerk of the courts, 
and four years State Senator, and a delegate to the Constitu- 
tional Convention of 1890. 

The towns of the county other than Westville are Harrisville 
and Jaynesville. 

The principal streams are Pearl and Strong rivers, Bowie, 
Okatoma, Vaughn, Banks, Mill, Royal, Sellars, White Oak, 
Brown, Clear, Campbell, Dabbs, Sanders, Big Lime, Good Water 
and Silver Creeks. 

The water power is most excellent, and will be utilized for 
factories and mills when railroad facilities are afforded, which is 
hoped will be in the near future. 

The river and creek lands are productive and the pine lands 
reasonably good. 

There are 37,991 acres of cleared land in Simpson, the average 
value of which, as rendered to the assessor, is $3.22 per acre; 
total value of cleared lands, including the towns in the county, 
$122,540. 

The population of Simpson, as shown by the census report of 
1890: Whites, 6,164; colored, 3,974; total, 10,138. 

Senators. Representatives. 

1825 Stephen Howell. 

1826 William Tulhs. 
i827-'28 Charles Lynch. Fraaklin E. Plummer. 
1829-30 Joseph Cooper. Franklin E. Pluinmcr. 
1 83 1 A. M. Keegan. Frederick Carr. 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 



573 



1833 Charles Lynch. 

1835 Richard Hargis. 

1836 

1837 Thos. J Coffee. 

i838-'39 Thos. J. Coffee. 

1840 Thos. J. Coffee. 

1 84 1 Thos. J. Coffee. 
i842-'43 Geo. T. Swann. 
1844 Geo. T. Swann. 
1846 Geo T. Swann. 
i848-'5o-'52 P. S. Catchings. 
1854 M. A. Banks. 

1856 M. A. Banks. 

1857 M. A. Banks. 

1858 P. S. Catchings. 
1859-60 P. S. Catchings. 
1861 (Jan.) P. S. Catchings. 
1861 (July) P. S. Catchings. 
i86i-'62 E. R. Brown. 
i865-'66-'67 Benj. King. 

1880 Jos. Bennett, Chas. Caldwell. 

1871 Jos. Bennett, Chas. Caldwell. 

i872-'73 T. J. Hardy. 

i874-'75 T. L. Mcndenhall. 

i876-'77 T. L. Mendenhall. 

1878 Stanley Gibert. 

1880 Stanley Gibert. 

1882 Jas. S. Eaton. 

1884 Thos. A. Dickson. 

1886 Thos. A. Dickson, Geo. S. 

Dodds. 
1888 Alex. Fairly, George S. 

Dodds. 
1890 Alex. Fairly, George S. 

Dodds. 



Jas. Powell. 

Brown. 

Alex, McCaskill. 

Alex. McCaskill. 

B. H. Jayne, J. B. Mendenhall. 

John Berry, Simon Thomas. 

John Berry, McCallum. 

John Berry, McCallnm. 

H. C. Bennett. 

J, Berry. 

Jas. M. Dampier. 

T. D. Magee. 

H F. Johnson, John Berry. 

John Berry. 

John Berry. 

L. B. Walker. 

L. B. Walker. 

L. B. Walker. 

L B. Walker. 

T. R. Gowan. 

T. R. Gowan. 

German Walker. 

German Walker. 

S. Leggett. 

Jos. L. Mead. 

Duncan McCallum. 

D. W. Mclnnis. 

Robert E. Rhodes. 

R. W. Hall. 

M. A. Banks. 

G. W. Johnson. 

Barney Smith. 



SHAEKEY COUNTY 

Was established March 29th, 1876, and named in honor of the 
distinguished jurist, W. L. Sharkey, Chief Justice of the High 
Court of Errors and Appeals. 

The act of the Legislature creating the county appointed as a 
board of supervisors to organize it, Sampson Williams, David 
Hunt, Thomas C. Watson, William T. Bernard and J. C. Shrader. 
Officers of the counties from which Sharkey was formed con- 
tinued to perform their duties until elections were held and the 
persons elected legally qualified. The county was to pay its pro- 
portion of the existing debts of the three counties, Washington, 
Warren and Issaquena, out of which it was carved, and in the 
list of those counties are the names of the first settlers who 
located in the territory now comprising Sharkey. 

The towns in the county are Rolling Fork, the county site, 
Smedes, Egremont, Anguilla, Nittayuma, McKinneyville. 



574 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

The streams are Big and Little Sunflower rivers and Deer 
Creek. 

The Louisville, New Orleans & Texas railroad runs the entire 
length of the county. 

Sharkey has 45,721 acres of cleared land ; average value per 
acre, $15.40. Total value including incorporated towns, $720,238. 

The population as shown by the census report of 1890 : 
whites, 1,225 ; colored, 7,139 ; total, 8,364. 

Senators. Representatives. 

1878 W.S. Farisn. Joel C. Hall. 

1880 W. S. Anderson. Leigh Clark. 

1882 H R. Jeffords. J. H. Cartwright. 

1884 H R. Jeffords. Geo. W. Butler. 

l886-'88 D. C. Casey. F. P. P. Brooks. 

1890 H. L. Foote. G. W. Butler. 



SMITH COUNTY, 

So named in honor of Major David Smith, of Hinds county, was 
established in December, 1833. 

Among the early settlers were John, William and James 
Thornton, William Flowers and his sons Richard, Henry, Felix 
and Hardy Flowers, Col. Frederick Carr, Whitmel Craft, father 
of Brj^ant, Reuben and Jesse Craft, Elisha Nichols, Alexander 
Chisholm, John Gowen and his sons Richard and John M. Gowen, 
Rev. Jacob Carr, Josiah Blackwell, and his son, the late Major 
John G-. Blackwell, Sampson Ainsworth, generally known as 
Jeff Ainsworth, a man of unusual natural endowments. Col. 
Levy Coleman, L. McLaurin, a most estimable gentleman, sev- 
eral times a member of the Legislature, the father of eight sons, 
three of whom were delegates to the Constitutional Convention 
of 1890, another serving as Railroad Commissioner, and another 
as district attorney of the eighth judicial district. The eldest of 
the brothers, Hon. A. J. McLaurin, a lawyer of distinction, served 
acceptably four years as district attorney, and one term as a 
member of the Legislature from Rankin county ; Joseph and 
Ebenezer Hays, James W. McMaster, who subsequently served 
as probate judge in Rankin county, and one term as Swamp Land 
Commissioner of the State ; James and Duncan McG-ill, William 
Tullis, Stephen Tullis, John Bennison, the Blakenys, Pages, 
Mobly and Samuel Meadows, the Carters, Sullivans, John Camp- 
bell, who was one of the first probate judges of the county, 
Daniel and N^eil Currie, Tristin B. Stubbs, Brandon, Rankin and 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 575 

Lewis Eoyals, W. F. Bowling, John and Frank Boykin, John 
and Berry Vinzant, the Duckworths, Stringers, Thos. J. Hus- 
bands, the Youngs, John Mayfield, Col. Samuel Lemly, and his 
so))s Tobias L., who represented the county several tinoes in the 
Legislature, and the late Samuel Lemlj% merchant of the city of 
Jackson: Eobert Gardner, the Butlers, Jacob Beaver, the 
Lutricks, William Broadfoot, a North Carolinian of culture, 
whose son Charles was clerk of the courts ; Timothy and Bedford 
Jones, J. G. Chrisman,fatherof Judge J. B. Chrisman, who served 
with distinction in both branches of the Legislature, is now and 
has been for twelve years on the circuit court bench, and was a 
delegate to the Constitutional Cenvention of 1890 ; the Crafts? 
"Diamond" John Smith, Malcolm Kelly, Neill and Alexander 
Little, Eeuben Eogers, James and Bartholomew Weems, John 
Barnes and his sons, Willis, William G., Felix, John M. and 
Eichard Barnes, John Eawls, Samuel 'Keown, a delegate to the 
Convention of 1861^ Peter Farmer, Eev. James Merchant, whose 
son was postmaster in New Orleans, William Thomas. Some 
few years later were Jamesjjpwry, for a number of years pro- 
bate judge of the county; Major Samuel Noble, who represented 
the county in the Legislature ; Dr. Ezekiel Noble, an intelligent 
physician and scholarly gentleman, the father of Doctor John B. 
Noble, now a prominent physician and merchant of Fannin, in 
Eankin county; Thomas Williamson, Eobert Noblin, the Wilkins's, 
and John M. Floyd, who was probate judge for several years, 
and Dr. E. W. Huey, a most excellent gentleman, who repre- 
sented the county in the Legislature. More than forty years ago, 
E. J. Goode, a young lawyer, came from Virginia, and located at 
Ealeigh. Well grounded in his profession, scholarly, intellectual, 
gentle and persuasive, but a short tiine elapsed when he was 
classed among the foremost of his professional brethren and 
enjoyed a large and lucrative practice. He removed to Monti- 
cello, then a flourishing town; after the war located in New 
Oi'leans, and from there migrated to Desmoines, Iowa, where he 
was at once recognized as an able and learned lawyer. His old 
associates in Mississippi remember him as a genial, cultured gen- 
tleman, and accomplished lawyer. Among the old settlers will 
be remembered Lewis E. Crook, who was sheriff of the county, 
the father of Capt. N. W. Frank and Eobert Crook. 

The first selection for the county site was about four miles 
south of the present courthouse, and was called Fairfield. It 



576 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

was, however, soon abandoned, and the present county site 
was located, and named in honor of Sir Walter Ealeigh. 

More than forty years ago the village of Polliville, on the 
west side of Strong river, was located, and soon afterwards 
Trenton, on the east side. The other towns in the county are 
Sylvarena, Pineville, Taylorville and Bunker Hill. 

As early as 1846, Judge Lowry, in addition to his mercantile 
interests at Ealeigh, established a tannery and manufactured a 
large amount of leather into saddles, harness, bridles, boots and 
shoes, and also manufactured hats. He supplied much of his 
trade with hats made of rabbit, coon, beaver and otter fur. 

The principal streams are Leaf river, that runs almost cen- 
trally through the county, Strong river that flows through the 
western part, Ocohay, Tallahala, Archusa, Yellow Bill, Fishers, 
Clear, St. Ely, Caney, Shongalo, Hatchapaloo, White Oak and 
Easpberry Creeks. 

The river and creek lands are excellent and respond gener- 
ously to cultivation, while the hill lands by fertilization give 
satisfactory yields. The people as a general thing are prosper- 
ous and contented. 

An incident occurred during the session of the Smith county 
circuit court at Ealeigh, forty-four or forty-five years ago, that 
made Greneral Henry S. Foote, elsewhere referred to, the hero 
of the hour. Two men, by name of Kelley and Little, had un- 
fortunately killed a negro, and were confined in jail at Ealeigh. 
The defence was conducted by General Foote, Hon. George T. 
Swan, at that time a resident of Brandon and enjoying a lucra- 
tive practice, and Hon. Tobias L. Lemly, who then resided in 
the county. Mr. Swan, who before and afterwards occupied po- 
sitions of honor and trust, wanted a personal interview with his 
clients before the case was called. The jail was situated in a 
hollow, west of the court-house, and almost obscured from view. 
The sheriff accompanied Mr. Swan to the jail, and when he 
closed the door on him promised to be back about the conclu- 
sion of the conference so as to let him out. At the period men- 
tioned the custom prevailed, to which there were but tew excep- 
tions, to indulge in a social glass, especially during court week. 
The sheriff, in recognition of this time-honored rule, had gotten 
his full share, and had forgotten Mr. Swan. The absence of Mr. 
Swan at dinner was observed by a member of the bar, who im- 
mediately took in the situation, and prepared a petition, directed 
to the presiding judge, signed by quite a number of gentlemen, 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 577. 

among them General Foote, setting forth their desire for the re- 
Isase trom the county jail of Mr. Swan, assigning as reasons 
that he was an honored and distinguished member of the bar, a 
State Senator, and a gentleman of unexceptional character, etc. 

The petition was handed the judge by a small boy while on 
his return to the court-house from dinner, intended purely as a 
matter of pleasantry. The judge, a stern, courageous and some- 
what irritable man, who in personal altercations had unfortu- 
nately killed two men, gave signs of displeasure, and on taking 
his seat in the stand, directed the sheriff to call the names on 
tlie paper. As they appeared in the court-room and took their 
seats, this question or inquiry was propounded to each of them : 
"Did you sign this paper, sir?" "Yes, your Honor, but I beg to 
assiire you that — " "Take your seat, sir I" This attempted an- 
swer came from a dozen or more, each in his turn dropping in his 
seat like he was shot. G-eneral Foote was the last on the list. By 
the time the last word in the inquiry was pronounced he was on his 
feet. "Yes, sir; I signed the petition. I have been a practicing 
lawyer many years, during which time it has been my pleasure 
to pay marked deference to the presiding judge, and in return, 
when not extended, to demand the courtesies due a lawyer and 
officer of the court. Yes, sir; I signed the petition which ex- 
plains itself. I have no apology to offer. When your Honor is 
off the bench, you are entitled to no exemptions other than those 
enjoyed by all gentlemen. As a gentleman I am the equal of 
your Honor." At the moment, touching his breast, General 
Foote took his seat, to the wonder and admiration of the coun- 
try people who well-nigh filled the court-room. The business of 
the court was resumed without further reference to the exciting 
occurrence. 

Smith county has 17,074 acres of cleared land ; average value 
per acre, S5.40 ; total value, including incorporated towns, $93,- 
670. 

The population of the county, as shown by the census report 

of 1890: Whites, 8,889; colored, 1,746; total, 10,685. 

Senators. Representatives. 

1835 Emanuel A. Durr. 

1736 Emanuel A. Durr, 

1837 Oliver C. Dease. Emanuel A. Durr. 

i848-'39 Oliver C. Dease. John Thornton. 

1840 John C. Thomas. Jas. L. McCaughn. 

1S41 John C. Thomas. Tobias L. Lemly. 

iS42-'43 John C, Thomas. L. McLaurin. 

1844 Simeon R. Adams. Tobias L. Lemly. 

37 



578 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 



1846 Simeon R. Adams. 
1848 I. V. Hodges. 
1850 I. V. Hodges. 
1852 Joseph Bennett. 
1854 Joseph Bennett. 
1S56 B. F. Reynolds. 

1857 B. F. Reynolds. 

1858 B. F. Reynolds. 
i859-'6o I. M. Quinn. 
286i-'62 I. M. Quinn. 

1865 Robert Lowry. 

1866 Robert Lowry. 

1867 Jesse Ellis, (vice Robert 

Lowry, resigned.) 
i870-'7i Thomas J. Hardy. 
i872-'73 Thomas J. Hardy. 
1874-75 Thomas L. Mendenhall. 
i876-'77 Thomas L. Mendenhall. 
i878-'8o Stanley Gibert. 
1882 Jas. S. Eaton. 
1884 Jas S. Eaton. 
1886 Wm. Buchanan. 
1888 Wm. Buchanan. 
1888 Wm. Buchanan, 
1890 J. H. Hill. 



Tobias L. Lemly. 
Samuel Noble. 
Samuel Noble. 
G. S. McMillan. 
George W. Rhodes. 
R. W. Huey. 
R. W. Huey. 
M. E. Gary. 
Love Gasque. 
L. McLaurin. 
L. McLaurin. 
Edward Currie. 
Edward Currie. 

Edward Currie. 

Edward Currie. 

George W. Stubbs. 

L. McLaurin. 

Jas. S. Eaton. 

W. H. Jones. 

Edward Currie. 

J. W. Sullivan. 

J. L. Fatten. 

Thomas Mayfield, (vice J. L. Patton, dec'd.) 

R. M. Currie. 



CHAPTER XXXIII. 



SUNFLOWEE COUNTY 

WAS established in 1844. Among the early settlers were 
Col. Eli Waits, J. Y. McNeill, William D. Parker or 
Bawly Parker, Governor B. Gr. Humphreys, Elbert Kinsey, Bur- 
ton Kinsey, the Marshalls, Col. Hezekiah McNabb, Eobert M. 
Coyle, Major Prank Hawkins, Capt. John Hawkins, James J. 
Chewning, Gr. B. Wilds, Ezekiel McNabb, the Gillespies and 
Smiths. Sunflower was in the Senatorial district of De Soto, 
and was first represented in the Senate by Felix Labauve, who 
was followed by D. C, Sharp. 

McNutt was the county site ; but after the establishment of 
Leflore county, which was carved out of Sunflower and a small 
portion of territory from Carroll, the county site was located at 
Johnsonville, immediately upon the Sunflower river, where it re- 
mained several years. By a vote of the people the county site 
was fixed several years ago at Indianola, a thrifty and prosperous 
little town on the Georgia Pacific Eailroad. The seat of justice 
of Sunflower county is in close proximity to some large planta- 
tions and small farms, and has steadily grown since the date of 
its location. In addition to the county town are Baird and John- 
sonville, the former a new town on the Georgia Pacific. 

The county being entirely in the bottom is rich and productive. 
The county was shorn of much of its territory by the establish- 
ment of Leflore county. 

The principal streams are Sunflower river, Jones Bayou, In- 
dian Bayou, Mound Bayou, Porter's and Morehead Bayous. 

The assessment roll demonstrates that Sunflower lands aTe 
among the most valuable in the State. 

There are in the county 29,520 acres of cleared land ; the value 
of which, as shown by the assessment roll, per acre, is $13.56. 
The total value of cleared lands, including incorporated towns, 
is $400,473. 



580 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

The population of this county as shown by the census report 
of 1890: Whites, 2,505 ; colored, 6,875 ; total, 9,380. 

SkNATORS. KlirRKSKNTA'l'IVKS. 

1846 Kelix Lahauve. janies J. Chewning. 

1848 I). C. Sharpe. G. B. WiKis 

1S50 Walker llrooke. Ezekial McNabl). 

1852 Morgan McAfee. — -, Gillespie. 

1854 A. M. Wes'. Smith. 

'S56-'57 A. M. West. H. M. Southworlli. 

1858 A. M. West. R. E. Crane. 

i859-'6o-'()i A. M. West. E. P. Jones. 

iS6i-"62 W. Q. Poindexter. E. P. Jones. 

i865-'66-'67 J. J. Marker. James Y. McNeil. 

i870-'7i Wm. Gray. D. N. Quinn. 

i872-"73 Wm. Price D. N. (^)»inn. 

i874-'75 Wm. Price. ]. W Randolph. 

i876-'77 W. il. FitzGerahl. 'Wm. II. Mallory. 

1878 W. H. FitzGeraUl. lames W. Heathman. 

1 880 W. II. KitzGerald. T. H. Torrey. 

1882 W. II. KitzGerald. Jesse Boyer. 

1684 G. W Gayles. C. S. McKenzie. 

1886 (i. W Gayles, John James. 

1888 John W. Cutrer. Marshall Brown. 

JS90 John W. Cutrer. Thos. R. Baird. 



TALLAHATCHIE COUNTY 

Was cstablishod DoctMTibor23, 1833. In 1832, Col. James Bailey, 
(the father of Judge,). S. Bailey, a most estimable gentleman and 
lawyer of high standing, who has reached his three score years 
and ten, and now a resident of the count}'), Captain Samuel 
Caruthers and Captain Chas. Bowen, then residents of Hickman 
county, Tennessee, came on horseback and explored nearly all ot 
the last ]>urchase made from the Choctaw Indians, by the treaty 
of Dancing Rabbit Creek, and selected the countrj' that impressed 
them most favorably. They located homes on Tillatoba creek, 
in what afterwards became Tallahatchie county. These three 
gentlemen were substantial farmers, and were possessed not only 
of monej', but quite a number of negro slaves, and were thorough- 
ly equipped to open plantations. 

At the time mentioned Samuel Poster was living in the valley, 
having previously married an Indian woman, was entitled by 
the terms of the treaty to some eighteen hundred acres of land, 
which he selected in the valley, at the base of the hills nine miles 
below Charleston. 

At the time, or just after the treaty mentioned, the Indians 
were incensed against Chief (rreenwood Leflore, and Samuel Fos- 
ter was one of a guard for the protection of Col. Leflore when he 



HISTOHY OF MISSISSIPPI, 581 

wont to meet General Jackson's Commissioner of Indian Affairs. 
About thi.s time the two little towns of Chocchuma and Tuscahoma 
sprung up, both located on the south banU of the Yalobusha 
river. 

The land office of the government was located at Chocchuma, 
which was situated where Parson's depot, on the Vazoo branch 
of the Illinois Central Railroad, is now located. 

Colonel James Bailey, Captain 8amuol Caruthers and Captain 
Chas. Bowen moved their families from Tennessee in 1832, and 
early in 1833, and in the latter year made most excellent crops. 
Having made their settlements prior to the organization of the 
county thoy secured their plantations by pre-emptions and pur- 
chases. 

The immigration in 1833 and 1834 was very considerable from 
the States of Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia, Alabama and the 
Carolinas, and formed a most excellent population. Among them 
were two nephews of John C. Calhoun, (the great South Carolina 
statesman,) Thomas and Lawrence Calhoun. There was also 
about that date a brother of the distinguished statesman of North 
Carolina, Wiley P. Mangum, who with his family, kinsmen and 
friends soon opened fine plantations and had comfortable homes. 
During the same year Major James W. Ilarper, a large planter 
and an educated and talented gentleman, came from Georgia, 
and opened a most valuable plantation upon which he now re- 
aides at the advanced age of eighty-five years. James Marsh, a 
lawyer and planter, was among the early settlors of the county. 
James A. Girault and George R. Girault came to this county at 
an early day from Natchez, and oi)ened large plantations and 
were prominent citizens. They were subsequently appointed 
respectively Receiver and Register of the Land Office at Grenada. 
Morgan, Jesse, Madison and John McAfee, wore among the 
early settlers of the county ; they came from south Mississippi, 
and frequently represented tho county in the Legislature. Mad- 
ison McAfee served the State as Auditor of Public Accounts. 
They were all gentlemen of largo means and of fine intelligence. 
All the brothers are dead. William Y. Blacker was among the 
first settlers of the county. Samuel Marsh, Sr., the venerable 
father of Samuel and James Marsh, a distinguished Baptist min- 
ister, opened a plantation near Col. James Bailey, and preached 
to his neighbors many years. 

Captain Chas. Bowen was the first Representative in the Leg- 



582 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 



islature from this county. The late Judge James M. Howry and 
H. A. Barr, Esq., of Oxford, married daughters of Captain Bowen. 

The population of Tallahatchie county in an early day was 
composed of persons of superior intelligence and culture. 

Charleston, the county site, is a flourishing little town situated 
in the forks of the Tillatoba ; other towns in the county are 
Sharkey, Harrison Station and Graball. 

Streams in the county are the Tillatoba and Yazoo rivers, and 
Hobson's and Opossum bayous. 

Tallahatchie county has 60,775 acres of cleared land ; average 
value per acre $12.76 j total value, including incorporated towns, 
is $775,757. 

The population of the county as shown by the census report of 
1890 : White, 4,974 ; colored, 9,387 j total, 14,361, 
Senators. 



1835 
1836 

1837 Wm. M. Brown. 

1838 Wm. M. Brown. 

1839 Wm. M. Brown. 
i840-'4i Greenwood Leflore. 
i842-'43 Greenwood Leflore. 
i844-'46 John W. Lampkin. 
1848 J. L. Alcorn. 

1850 J. L. Alcorn. 
1852 J. L. Alcorn. 
1854 J. L. Alcorn. 
i856-'57 I. N. Davis. 
1858 1. N. Davis. 
i859-'6o- 61 J. E. Talliaferro. 
1 86 1 -'62 J. E. Talliaferro. 
i865-'66-'67 H. Mosely. 
i870-'7i James H. Pierce. 
i872-'73-'74 Wm. Price. 
i874-'75 Wm. Price. 
i876-'77-'78-'8o W. H. FitzGer- 

aid. 
1882 W. H. FitzGerald. 
1884 John J. Gage. 
1886 John J. Gage. 
1888 J. N. McLeod. 
1890 J. N. McLeod. 



Representatives. 
Chas. Brown. 
Morgan McAfee. 
Richard Coleman. 



Edward Jenkins. 
Morgan McAiee. 
James S. Bailey. 
J. P. Force. 
J, L. Calhoun. 
Jos. Slack. 
F. H. Buckley. 
S. Parks. 
J. E. Talliaferro. 
A. G. Murphy. 
W. S. Eskridge. 
T. J. N. Bridges. 
J. S. B. Coggshall. 
Wm. B. Avery. 
Wm. B. Avery. 
James S. Bailey. 



John H. McAfee. 
H. H. Bridges. 
W. S. Eskridge. 
John Bailey. 
E. D. Rowe. 



TATE COUNTY 

Was established December 23d, 1873, carved out of the counties 
of De Soto, Tunica and Marshall, mainly, however, out of De- 
Soto, and therefore, the record and names of the early settlers 
of those counties contain a great number that lived in the terri- 
tory now comprising Tate. 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 588 

The act of the Legislature creating the county provided for 
the appointment by the Grovernor of all county oflficers, who 
should hold their oflSces until the succeeding general election, and 
until their successors were qualified. It was also provided that 
the county should pay its proportion of the existing debts of the 
counties respectively from which it was formed, and that it 
should receive its proportion of school and county funds. 

The first Representatives in the Legislature from the county 
were T. S. Tate and T. B. Garrett j the first Senators, J. H. HoN 
loway and M. Campbell. 

This is one of the best county of lands in the State. It has 
been stated that there was scarcely an acre of land in the county 
when reduced from its virgin state, well tilled, that would not 
produce a bale of cotton. 

The towns in the county are Senatobia, the county site, hand- 
somely located and well sustained; Coldwater Depot, Arkabut- 
la, Independence, Looxahoma, Strayhorn and Tyro. 

The streams are the Coldwater river, Senatobia, Arkabutla, 
Hickahala, Jim Wolfe and Bear Tail creeks. 

The Illinois Central railroad, formerly the Mississippi & Ten- 
nessee, traverses the county from north to south. 

Tate has 156,709 acres of cleared lands ; average value per acre, 
^6.97 J total value, including incorporated towns, $1,245,679. 

Population of this county as shown by the census report ol 
1890 : Whites, 8,398, colored, 10,853 ; total, 19,251. 

Senators. Representatives. 

1874 T. S. Tate, T. B Garrett. 

1875 J. H. Holloway, M.Campbell. T. S. Tate, T, B. Garrett. 
1876-77 C. G.Callicott, J. B.Morgan. G. D. Shands, Thomas B. Garrett. 
1878 C. G. Callicott, J. B. Morgan. G. D. Shands, William H. Bizzell. 
1880 James B. Perkins. H. F. Bowman, B. R. Chambliss. 
1882 V. B. Waddell. W. T. Stovall, J. A. C. Stephens. 
1884 R. W. Owen. " F. M. Norfleet, W. P. Eason. 

1886 R. W. Owen. W. H. Bizzell, J. C. Roseborough. 

1888 N. A. Taylor. J. R. Puryear, J. T. Eason. 

1890 N. A. Taylor. J. R. Puryear, W, H. Bizzell. 



TIPPAH COUNTY 

Was established February 9th, 1836. The commissioners ap- 
pointed to organize the county were Francis T. Leake, Joseph 
W. Matthews and Thos. J. Ward. 

Among the first settlers of the countj'' were Abner McCoy, 
now over eighty years of age ; Joseph Jamison, now more than 
ninety years of age; Joseph E. Rodgers, H. A. Stubbs; W. C. 



584 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

Falkner, a lawyer and prominent citizen, colonel in the Confed- 
erate war, a pleasant and interesting writer, author of two novels, 
a large contributor to the building of the Gulf & Ship Island 
Kailroad from Middleton, Tennessee, to Pontotoc in this State ; 
he was the father John W. T. Falkner, a prominent lawyer in 
Oxford; Simeon E. Spight, Jas. Spight, father of Hon. Thomas 
Spight, who has represented the county in the Legislature and 
served the judicial district in which he resides most acceptably 
as district attorney; J. H. Jernagan, Kobt. H. Warren, William 
Greer, Jas. D. Portis, J. B. Ayers, Jeremiah H. Pickens, George 
Gray, Henry A. Shorter, Dr. J. T. Laird, Eev. Chas. P. Miller, a 
Methodist minister, the father-in-law of Richard J, Thurman 
and Dr. John Y. Murry ; H. W. Stricklin, circuit clerk for 
probably twenty years ; Daniel Hunt, probate clerk for many 
3^ears ; Rev. Wm. A. Gray, a Presbyterian minister, the uncle of 
Hon. W. A. Boyd, who has represented the county in both 
branches of the Legislature, and a member of the Constitutional 
Convention of 1890 ; C. A. Brougher, who was elected Secretary 
of State ; Dr. Jas. B. Ellis, Dr. W. D. Carter, Dr. Jno. Y. Murry, 
a physician of high character, twice elected sheriff of the county, 
and represented the counties of Tippah and Benton in the Leg- 
islature; Jas. Rogan, probate judge; Wm. Ford, John Palmer, 
S. M. Hargrove, Hon. Jno. W. Thompson and Nathaniel S. Price, 
both of whom were circuit judges ; Sion Bogers, father of Jo- 
seph E. Rogers; Judge Christopher A. Green, who represented 
the county in the Legislature ; Thos. C. Hindman, father of 
General Thos. Hindman, a Major-General in the Confederate 
army, and at one time a member of Congress from the State of 
Arkansas, and J. G. Hamer, who represented the county in the 
Legislature more than forty years ago ; Dr. E. M. Alexander, a 
physician of high standing, and former State Senator. 

The towns in the county are Ripley, the county site ; Dumas, 
Brooklyn, Falkner, Ruckersville, Guyton, Cotton Plant, Tip- 
lersville, Lowery, Blue Mountain, Orizaba and Silver Springs. 

The streams are Tippah and Tallahatchie rivers, West Hatchie, 
East or Big Hatchie, Muddy Cane and Owl creeks. 

The Gulf k Ship Island is the only railroad in the county. 

Tippah has 29,184 acres of cleared land ; average value per 
acre, $6.63 ; toti.1 value, including incorporated towns, $250,606. 

The population of the county, as shown by the census report 
of 1890 : Whites, 9,981 ; colored, 2,970 ; total, 12,958. 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 



585 



Senators. 

1837 Samuel Mathews. 
i838-'39 Samuel Matthews. 
i84a-'4i Samuel Matthews. 

1842 Frederick Brouglier. 

1843 Frederick Brougher. 

1844 Frederick Brougher. 

1846 N. S. Price. 

1848 N. S. Price. 

1850 J. H. Berry. 

1852 J. H. Berry. 
1854 Joel H. Berry. 

1856 Joel H. Berry. 

1857 

1858 W, R. Buchanan. 

1859 W. R. Buchanan. 
i86o-'6i W. R. Buchanan. 
1861-62 Wm. G. Pegram. 
i865-'66-'67 F. A. Wolft', 

1870 W. T. Stricklin. 

1871 W. T, Stricklin. 
i872-'72 E. M. Alexander. 
i874-'75 Clarence Cullens. 
i876-'77-'78 Chas. C. Terry. 
1880 J. H. Ualton. 

1882 J. H Dalton. 

1884 W. A. Boyd. 

1886 W. A. Boyd. 

1888 W. A, McDonald. 

i860 VV. A. McDonald. 



Representatives. 
Robt H. Warren. 
Jas. P. Porlis, S. M. Hargrove. 
J. B. Ayres S. M. Hargrove, 
s. M. Hargrove, W. B Smith. 
John Gordon, Samuel Craig. 
N. S. Price, W, M. Woftbrd, W. S. Taylor 

D. Griffin. 
E. A. Warren, D. Griffin, C. A.Green, J. H 

Berry. 
J. W. Echols, J. Gatlin, J. G. Hamer, W 

H. Foote. 
J. H. Gatlin, J. W. Echols, B D. Nabors, 

Benjamin Collins. 
J. D. Barker. M. W. Moody, H. A Cook, 
r. C. Hindman, Jr. F. A. Wolff, John Sid- 
dell, J. G. Hamer. 
J. G. Hamer, J. W. Thompson. 
J. W. Thompson, G. W. Hamer. 
S. C. Rutheriord, I. R. Collins, J. M, North 

cross. 
S. C, Rutherford, R. McAllister, J. L. Mc 

Donald, Wm. Knox. 
S. C. Rutherford, Wm. Knox, J. L. McDon 

aid, R. McAllister. 
W. A. Boyd, J. C. Jackson, D. K. Childers 

S W. Echols. 
Jas. H. Kennedy, W. H. Holcombe, H. H 

Powers. 
E. N. Hunt, H. F. Wells. 
E. N. Hunt. H. F. Wells, E. M. Alexander 
W. A. Boyd, 
Thomas Spight. 
Thomas Spight. 
Francis A. Wolff. 
C. J. Frederick. 
J. J. White, John Y. Murry. 
N. L. Harmon, W. T. McDonald. 
S. O. Love, Jas. C. Harris, 
L. Pink Smith. Allan Talbot. 



TISHOMINGO COUNTY 

Was established February 9th, 1836. The following named per- 
sons were appointed by an act of the Legislature, February 14th, 
1836, Commissioners to organize the county : Peter G. Rivers, 
James Davis, James M. Matthews, and A. M. Cowan. At the 
date of organizing the county, it embraced more territory than 
any other in the State. 

The counties of Alcorn and Prentiss, except a small strip of 
territory taken from Tippah, were carved out of Tishomingo. 

Among the first settlers of the county were James Bell, who 
resided at Farmington, a town now extinct ; Shelby Maur}^, who 
was the first representative of the county ; Reuben Boone, who 



586 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

represented the county in both branches of the Legislature, was 
the father of Lieutenant-Colonel Boone, of the 26th Mississippi 
regiment, who was killed in Virginia, while in command of his 
regiment, and of Hon. B. B. Boone, who was also a Lieutenant- 
Colonel in the Confederate army, represented the county in the 
Legislature, and after the war was Circuit Judge of the judicial 
District in which he lived ; — Gresham, who was the father of the 
late Major James Greshara. The elder Gresham was the owner of 
the mills at the head of Mackey's Creek, more than half a century 
agoj after his death the site was purchased by Mr. Nelson, upon 
which a cotton factory was established, and in successful operation 
when burned a few years ago. Samuel and James B. Matthews; 
the former represented the county soon after its organization in 
the State Senate, and the latter represented the county, and was 
subsequently elected Auditor of Public Accounts. D. W. Hindman, 
who was a Representative from the county; Major Calvin Lacey 
and his brother Carroll Lacey, who emigrated from Perry county, 
Tennnessee ; the latter has a son now practicing law at Boone- 
ville. The families of Martins, Kysers, Hamlins and Kogers, 
Wesley Williams, the Taylors, Stephen S. Houge, S. D. Gibbs, 
one of the early sheriflFs of the county ; Col. Robert A. Daven- 
port, a gentleman of high standing, who also served acceptably 
as sheriff of the county; John Dilworth, father of Hon. A. B. 
Dilworth, who served the county as a member of the Legisla- 
ture, and subsequently elected Secretary of State; H. B. Mitch- 
ell, who was the first Probate Judge of the county. John Reeves, 
who was the first circuit clerk of the county. John Job, or "old 
Sorrell" as he was familiarly called, was one of the earliest set? 
tiers of the county. Leroy Pounds, Isaac Lewellen, Jas. R. Har- 
rell, Thomas Dilworth, the BIythes', James Senter, the Smiths', 
A. E. Reynolds, Colonel of the 26th Mississippi regiment, served 
the county as State Senator, and after the war as Chancellor of 
the District in which he lived ; David Hindman, Wm. Duncan, 
Dud. Corley, B. C. Reeves, the late Robert Lowry, who repre- 
sented the county in 1863, the father of Captain John A., Robert 
and the late Doctor W. L. Lowry, and the father of the wife of 
ex-Chief Justice Arnold, of the Supreme Court of Mississippi, 
now of Birmingham, Alabama. The late David Allen, the father 
of a numerous family. The eldest son, James, is a leading cot- 
ton factor in the cities of Memphis, Tennessee and St. Louis, 
Missouri ; Robert H. served the county of Lee as State Senator, 
and more recently Tishomingo in the Constitutional Convention. 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 587 

John M., or "Private John," as he is more familiarly known, was 
District-Attorney in the first Judicial District for several years 
and is now serving his fourth term as a member of Congress 
from the first Congressional District of his native State. Thos. 
Bennett, Nicholas Norket, Pat. Garner, the Bettes', Clarkes', 
Hester's, Price's, William Leslie, John Shepard^ Vincent Smith, 
Henry Smith, Edward Young, John Carter, Seth Martin and 
Wyatt Bettis. 

The towns of the county as at present organized are luka, the 
county site, with a population of nearly one thousand, situated 
on the Memphis and Charleston Railroad, Burnsville, Eastport, 
Cartersville and IBay Springs. 

This place was known in an early day as Grresham's Mills. 
Bay Springs was the name of Robert Lowry's residence, four 
miles from the mills. 

The first post-office in that vicinity was at his store, and called 
Bay Springs Postoffice. When he changed his residence to near 
old Carrollville, the post-office was moved to Gresham's Mill's, 
without change of name, and the place was thereafter called Bay 
Springs. 

The principal streams are Tuscumbia and Tennessee rivers ; 
Bear, Twenty Mile, Wolff, Polly's, Big and Little Brown, Dry, 
Okalia, Mackey's, Casey's, Meadow and Brush Creeks. 

Much of the most productive and fertile lands in Tishomingo 
as first organized, are now embraced in the populous and pros- 
perous counties of Alcorn and Prentiss. 

The number of acres of cleared lands in the county is 26,151, 
and the average price per acre as rendered to the assessor, is 
$4.14 ; the total value of cleared lands in the county, including 
incorporated towns, is $108,287.00. 

The population as shown by the census of 1890 is : Whites, 
8,289; colored, 1,013; total, 9,304. 

Senators. Representatives. 

1837 Samuel Matthews. Shelby Ussery. 

1838-39 Samuel Matthews. D. W. Hindman, Shelby Ussery. 

1840 Samuel Matthews. R. H. Boone, James Matthews. 

1841 Samuel Mathews. R. H. Boone. 

1842 W. F. Withers. James E. Mathews, A. B. Dilworth. 

1843 .W. F. Withers. Shelby Ussery, A. B. Dilworth. 

1844 W. F. Withers. R. H. Boone, W. L. Allen, James Wells. 
1846 R. H. Boone. A. B. Dilworth, D. W. Hindman, S.O. Gibbs. 
1848 R. H. Boone. A. B. Dilworth, S. S. Hogue,r M. Surat, J. F. 

Arnold. 
1850 A. E. Reynolds. W. H. H. Tison, M. Surat, C. W. Bell, J. 

W. Chisholm. 



588 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 



1852 A. E. Reynolds. 
1854 E. O. Reynolds. 

1856 A. E. Reynolds. 

18C7 A. E. Reynolds. 

1858 C. W. McCord. 

1859 C. W. McCord. 
1860-61 C. W. McCord. 
1861-62 C. A. Taylor. 
1865 W. L. Duncan. 

1866-67 D. M. Wisdom. 

1870-71 John M. Stone. 
1872-73 John M. Stone. 
1874-75 John M. Stone. 

1876 John M. Stone. 

1877 John D. Bills. 

1878 [ohn D. Bills. 
1880 John D. Bills. 
1882 F. M. Boone. 
1884-86 F. M. Boone. 
1888 F. M. Boone. 
1890 C. Kendrick. 



Jas. Box, C. A. Taylor, Geo. Tankersley. 

C. A. Taylor, B. C. Rives, M. G. Lewis, Jas. 
Box. 

W. H. H. Tison, M. Surratt, C. W. McLeod, 
Geo. Tankersly. 

M. Surratt, C. W. McLeod, Geo. Tankersly, 
J. J. Lindsay. 

M. Surratt, C. W. Bell, B. B. Boone 

M. Surratt, C. W. Bell, F. M. Boone, J. Ackers 

M. Surratt, C. W. Bell, F. Boone, — Ackers. 

W..W. Bonds, R. B.Smith, C. W. Williams. 

J. W. Burress, B. B. Boone, W. A. Tankers- 
ly, M. Surratt. 

J. W. Burress, B. B. Boone, W. A. Tankers- 
ly, M. Surratt. 

Hugh M. Street, R. A. Johns. 

W. Y. Baker. 

Jackson Ackers. 

John A. Crossland. 

John A. Crossland. 

Frank Cook. 

W. A. Tankersly. 

H. T. Moss. 

C. Kendrick. 

M. P. Harrison. 

S. L. Rodgers. 



TUNICA COUNTY 

Was established February 9th, 1836. Among the early settlers 
were S, H. Fletcher, Dr. J. C. Nelson, J. S. McPeak, Kansom H. 
Byrn, who represented the county in the Legislature ; Walter H. 
Bell was the first representative from the county ; E. H. 
Humphreys, Lorenzo A. Besancon, S. May, Thomas M. Fletcher, 
James F. Boren, Eichard Abbay, who was the father of Hon. 
Eichard F. Abbay, who represented the county in the Legisla- 
ture, and was a delegate to the Constitutional Convention of 
1890. 

Towns in the county are Tunica, the county site, Austin, Hol- 
lywood, Eobinsonville and Evansville. Commerce, situated on 
the Mississippi river, was the first town in the county, and when 
located it was believed that it would be a place of large commer- 
cial importance, but it no longer exists, having long since become 
a part of the great river. 

The streams in the county are Buck Island and Beaver Dam 
bayous. Walnut and Beaver Dam lakes. The Mississippi river 
forms the western and Coldwater the eastern boundary of the 
county. 

There are in the county 49,355 acres of cleared land, the value 
of which, per acre, as rendered by the assessor, is $12.44 ; total 
value of cleared lands, including incorporated towns 8661,653. 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 



589 



The population of the county as shown by the census of 1890 
Whites, 1,218 J colored, 10,936 j total, 12,154. 



Senators. 

i837-'38 James D. Hallam. 
1839 F«lix Walker. 
1S40 Alfred Cox. 

1841 James M. Matlock. 

1842 Andrew Knox. 
i843-'44 Andrew Knox. 
1846 Felix Labauve. 
1848 Felix Labauve. 
1850 James M. Tait. 
1852 James M. Tait. 
1854 Simeon Oliver. 
iS56-'57 Simeon Oliver. 
1858 Simeon Oliver. 
i859-'6o-'6i Simeon Oliver. 
i86i-'62 Simeon Oliver. 
i865-'66-'67 Dr. W. H. McCargo. 

1870 A. S. Dowd. 

1871 A. S. Dowd. 

i872-'73 J. G. Holloway, M. 
Campbell. 

1874-75 J- G. Holloway, M. 
Campbell. 

i876-'77 C. G. Callicott, J. B. 
Morgan. 

1878 C. G. Callicott, J. B. Mor- 
gan. 

1880 lames B. Perkins. 

1882 V. B. Waddell. 

i884-'86 R. W. Owen. 

i888-'9o N. A. Taylor. 



Representatives. 



W. H. Bell. 
Walter H. Bell. 
Lorenzo A. Besancon. 
Lorenzo A. Besancon. 
Lorenzo A. Besancon. 
Thos. M. Fletcher. 
S May. 
R. H. Byrne. 
R. H. Byrne. 

James F. Boren. 
George A. Sykes. 
R. G. Kelsey, 
R. H Byrne. 

Dale. 

Francis A. Owen. 



Gilbert Smith. 

Gilbert Smith. 

George P A. Brown. 

James B, Perkins. 

W. J. Nelson. 
T. C. Ferguson. 
T. C. Ferguson. 
R. F. Abbay. 



CHAPTER XXXIV. 



UNION COUNTY 

WAS established April 7th, 1870, carved out of parts of 
Pontotoc and Tippah counties, and is regarded as among 
the best counties in North Mississippi. 

In giving the names of the early settlers of this county it must 
be understood that the territorj'^ was then embraced in the coun- 
ties of Pontotoc and Tippah. Berry Hodges and John Hodges, 
William D. Sloan, Allen and Barton Sloan, Samuel Knowles, 
Col. John S. Doxey, Shepherd A. Briggs, Barker Foster, William 
Ford, Moses Collins, Eev. Joseph Edwards, Matthew Wilhite, 
John Robbards, Vincent and John Wages and Dock Collins, 
settled in what is now Union county one year before the organi- 
zation of Pontotoc and Tippah counties, as did Dr. Ben. Ellis ; 
William Houston, a prominent citizen of the Buncomb section of 
the county ; William Hamilton, David Pannel, Samuel Atkinson, 
William Stone, C. T. Bond, Frank and Alexander Morgan, Jesse 
Collins, Dr. Thompson, Osna Alexander, Ira Kemp, Dr. H. N. 
Moss, Charles Walker, Clark Foster, James and Jake Borden, 
Samuel Govan, Sim Pannel, Marion Shelton, Samuel B. and Joseph 
Allen, William Duncan, Larkin Hill, Dick Hudson, James Dun- 
can, William Hall, John Hardy, Abe Williams, George Wiley, 
Eobert McBride, M. W. Martin, John Y. and Milas Nesbit, 
Bkekiel Millsaps, Zack Tate, John Little and James Tison, settled 
in what is now Union county, during the years 1836-'37-'38 and 
1839. One, two and three j^ears later may be mentioned Carey 
Snider, J. C. and Wiley D. Robbins, John Arnold, W. C. Swin- 
doll, Dr. M. Wilson, B. C. S. and Dr. Porter McAllister, Russell 
J. Turner, John and Robert McAllister, Rev. Isaac Smith, Samuel 
and Tom Newton, D. F. Algood, J. A. Parker, Wm. F. Parks, 
Eli Corneville, Benjamin Parker, J. J. Jarvis, William Liddell, 
John Bills, Aleck and John A. Heard and George Hillsman. 
During the next three years there were Rev. James Boswell, 
William Langston, James Lee and William Jarvis, Jacob and 
Robert Dansby, Dr. C. G. Mitchell, Joshua and Isaac Smith. 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 591 

The principal towns in the county are New Albany, the county 
site ; Wallerville, Ellistown, Blue Springs, Baker, Keownsville, 
Myrtle, Eocky Ford and Ingomar. 

The streams are Tallahatchie river. Kings or Issip Creek, 
Lukaspur, Mud, Lapatube, Tishomingo, Big or Hill, Oklemata 
and Ocondihatcha creeks. 

The Chicago & Ship Island and Kansas City, Memphis & Bir- 
mingham railroads pass through portions of the county. 

Union county may be classed as a good county of lands. 

The approximate value of the cleared lands in the county, 
agreeably to the assessment ot 1889, was $4.58, and the uncleared 
lands $2.39 per acre. 

The people of the county are prosperous and contented. 

The population of the county, as shown by the census report 
of 1890 : Whites, 11,569, colored, 4,037; total, 15,606. 

Senators. Representatives. 

i872-'73 E. M. Alexander. C. O. Potter. 

i874-'75 Clarence Cullens. Z. M. Stevens. 

i876-'77 Chas. C. Terry, A. J. Cochran, B. F. McWhorter. 

1878 Chas. C. Terry. B F. McWhorter, Jeff Wilson. 

1880 J. H. Dalton. W. R. Ramsey, C. S. Bobertson. 

1882 J. H. Dalton, S. Heard, N. M. Berry. 

1884 W. A. Boyd. J. L. Dickerson, Z. M. Stevens. 

1886 W. A. Boyd. B. F. McWhorter, Jas. Gordon. 

1888 W, A. McDonald, W P. Stewart, M. L. Henry. 

1890 W. A, McDonald. Robert Frasier, Jeff D. Potter. 



WAREEN COUNTY 



Was established December 22d, 1809, and named in memory of 
Dr. Joseph Warren, a Major-General of Massachusetts Bay, who 
fell at the battle of Bunker Hill on the 17th day of June, 1775. 

Vicksburg, the county site, was named in honor of the Vick 
family, some of the descendants of whom are still residents of 
the city. 

Among the early settlers in the southern portion of the county 
were Jacob Hyland, who represented the county in the Legisla- 
ture in 1822; Wm. L. Sharkey, specially referred to elsewhere ; 
the families of Glass, Pace, Eawls, McElrath, Hicks^ Griffin, 
one of whom, Francis, represented the county in the Legisla- 
ture ; Lewis, Lobdell and Haynes. 

The central portion of the county was first settled by the Eev. 
Tobias Gibson, who was probably the first Methodist missionarj- 
to Mississippi, and his brother, Eev. Randall Gibson ; both were 



592 HISTORY OF MlSSISSIPPr. 

citizens of prominence. Tobias Grib^son moved to Louisiana. 
His grandson, Randall L. G-ibson, is now a United States Sena- 
tor from that State. Col. James Gibson represented the county 
in the Legislature several terms, and was probate judge when 
killed by Col. Anthony Durden, whose mother was a Vick, and 
his wife a sister of Col. Gibson whom he killed. The Nailors, Mo- 
netts, Booths, Sextons and Valentines were connected by mar- 
riage with the Gibson family. The neighborhood is still called 
the '^Gibson Settlement." 

Another settlement in an early day was on the chain of lakes 
above where the present National Cemetery is located, commen- 
cing at the river at the Walnut Hills, among whom were H. P. 
Morancy, Dr. John Jenkins, whose son was killed in Yicksburg 
while editor of the Vicksburg Sentinel by Henry A. Crabb. The 
wife of Dr. Jenkins was a Miss Donaldson, sister of the wife of 
General Andrew Jackson. The Fergusons, Turnbulls, Samuel 
A. Davis, brother of President Jefferson Davis, and the Throck- 
mortons. 

After the United States survey of public lauds not included in 
previous grants, there came quite an exodus of immigrants from 
Virginia and settled on an attractive plat of land, some seven 
miles northeast of Vicksburg. The area embraced in this set- 
tlement was about two miles in width, four miles in length, and 
very nearly level. It was surrounded bj'^ hills too steep for cul- 
tivation. The Choctaw Indians had a town or camping ground 
near there, called by them Highland Lake. The cane had been 
burnt often, and the large timber destroyed, hence the name 
given to the settlement was "Open Woods," which it still bears, 
and for which Open Woods street in Vicksburg was named. 

Poster Cook, the father of the venerable Rev. Edwin G. Cook, 
now eighty years of age, was the surveyor who ran out the sec- 
tion lines through the open woods, and then entered it all for 
four of the Vicks and four of the Cook families, Avho were 
related lived and prospered on their settlement, and were 
buried in the gardens of their homesteads. Their descendants 
were numerous in Warren and elsewhere. 

Poster Cook had the only public gin and mill in the Open 
Woods to which seed cotton was brought to be ginned and corn 
to be ground. At that early day cotton receipts given at a gin 
when seed cotton was delivered, were by statute of 1822 made 
assignable, and if not delivered or paid for on demand, agreea- 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 593 

bly to the provisions of the statute, the holder of the receipt was 
entitled to recover the value of the cotton and 15 per centum 
damages. 

Mr. Cook's hospitable home was a stopping place for distin- 
guished politicians of that day, and political speeches were fre- 
quently made at his house. Among his guests were numbered 
Governor Walter Leake, Dr. Keirn, who married Miss Lucy 
Leake, who was the mother of Dr. W. L. Keirn, of Holmes 
county, one among the accomplished and intellectual men 
of the State ; Hon. Christopher Eankin, Hon. David Dickson, 
Governor David Holmes, Hon. Ralph Ragan, a State Senator in 
1822 ; Hon. Adam Gordon and others. 

The city of Vicksbui'g, or rather the land upon which it is 
located, was intended to be surveyed and laid off in town lots by 
Kev. Newett Vick in 1819. Mr. Vick, however, died before 
accomplishing his intentions, but left directions for the carrying 
out of his wishes. His executor, Col. W. B. Vick, did not 
believe that such survey and sale of lots would promote the 
interest of the estate, but that it would be more profitable to cul- 
tivate the land ih cotton. 

His failure to carry out the plans of Rev. Mr. Vick created 
itigation which resulted in the appointment of Rev. John Lane, 
son-in-law of the deceased, administrator with the will annexed, 
who proceeded to carry out the wishes of the decedent. 

There may also be mentioned as early settlers, J. C, N. W. 
and E. Ford, James McCutchen, William M. Pinckard, Thomas 
L. Arnold, Jacob U. Payne, Jilson P. and James O. Harrison, 
W. S. Bodley and Dr. Hugh S. Bodley, the latter killed while in 
company with other gentlemen seeking to arrest gamblers who 
at that time were infesting the city. Dr. Bodley's death caused 
the hanging of five or six of the gamblers on the 5th of July, 
1835 ; there were also Hon. Thomas A. Mjirshall, a great lawyer 
and profound jurist, who has reached the age of nearly four score 
years, still a resident of the city, esteemed and respected by the 
entire community, and the late Rev. Dr. Charles K. Marshall, an 
eloquent and distinguished Methodist divine known and beloved, 
not only throughout the State, but beyond her borders as a min- 
ister of great force and power, and a gentleman of rare culture. 
N. D. Coleman, L. R. Coleman, Abram B. Reading, Atwood and 
Randolph Reading, Patrick W. Tompkins, in many respects 
gifted and unexcelled, who served as judge of the circuit court 
and also as a member of Congress; he was the lather of George 
38 



594 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

H. Tompkins, now a worthy citizen of the city ; Harper P. Hunt, 
who married a sister of Judge Tompkins, and was the father of 
the two gifted and brilliant ladies, Mrs. Dr. Brisbane, who still 
lives in the home of her childhood, and Mrs. Col. Odom, of 
Abilene, Texas ; Dr. James M. Hunt, an accomplished physician. 
Judge William Mills, Wm. H. McCardle, Wm. Pescod, Jas. 
R. and Robert McDowell, William Davenport, Thomas and Ed- 
mond Whaley, Thomas Rigby, Dr. James Hagan, editor of the 
Yicksburg Sentinel, and killed b}' General Daniel W. Adams; 
Michael Cuddj", William Porterfield, Rev. George Weller, the 
first Episcopal minister in Vicksburg ; J. Fred Baum, Bonelli, 
Joseph and Antonio Genella. 

Among the early merchants of Vicksburg were Wm. B. Mark- 
liam, the father of the Rev. Thomas R. Markham, D. D., a dis- 
tinguished Presbyterian divine of New" Orleans; Alexander C. 
Manlove, Samuel Garvin, James R. Harris and Richard Lj^ons, 
Wm. M. and Ferdinand Pinckard, Jacob IT. Payne, Harvey Jen- 
kins, Wm. P. Swiney, James R. and Robert McDowell, Wm. R. 
Norcom, Thomas C. and Thomas J. Randolph, Crutcher and 
McRaven, the latter a native of Hinds county, Tilden and John- 
son, John C. Bull, and bis partner John C. Black, George Brnn- 
gard, the Crump brothers, Robert H., John and Benjamin; the 
Hirst became mayor of the city ; the Fox brothers, the Folkes 
brothers. Shepherd Brown and his partners, Joseph and George 
Johnson; Purdy and Springer; the latter became judge of pro- 
bate and represented the city in the Legislature more than once ; 
Swartout and Gwin, Thomas and Edmund Whaley and Charles 
W. Allen. 

Among the early lawyers were Alexander G. McNutt, Wm. L. 
Sharkey, George Coalter, Wni. Mills, Wm. H. Benton, Wm. S. 
Bodley, John I. Guion, Wm. H. and Alex. M. Paxton, Eugene 
Magee, Albert G. Creath, Charles T. Flusser, Samuel P. Web- 
ster, Wm. A. Lake, Thomas A. Marshall, Sargent S. Pi'entiss, 
Joseph Holt, James O. and Jilson P. Harrison, Wm. H. Hurst, 
Eilbeck Mason, brother of the late Hon. James M. Mason, of Vir- 
ginia ; John M. Chilton, Fredrick A. Norcom, Jacob S. and 
George S. Yerger, Wm. E. Anderson, the father of the distin- 
guished Fulton Anderson, Wm. C. Smedes, a lawj^er of great 
ability; E. S. Fisher, subsequentlj^ a judge on the bench 
of the High Court of Errors and Appeals; Patrick W. Tomp- 
kins, later a Representative in Congress and judge of the circuit 
court; John H. Martin, the father of General Will T. Martin; 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 595 

Armistead Burwell, Robert L. Moore, who fell at the head of a 
Vicksburg company at the battle of Buena Vista; Eobert L. 
French, William N. Harrison, Samuel W. Dorsey, Henry F. 
Cook and Abram F. Smith. 

Among the early physicians were Dr. Thomas Anderson, Dr. 
Robert J. Harper, Dr. Hagaman, Dr. Hugh I. Bodlej', Dr. James 
Crump^ followed later by his brother. Dr. George P. Crump ; 
Dr. Thomas M. Jackson, Dr. R. H. Broadnax, Dr. John Gr. Par- 
ham, Dr. Wm. T. Balfour, Dr. Walter Puckett, Dr. B. J. Hicks, 
Dr. Morgan, Dr. Alex. Hensley, Dr. Allen, Dr. Albert Chewning^ 
Dr. M. M. Pallen, Dr. Morris Emanuel, subsequently for a num- 
ber of years president of the Yicksburg and Meridian Railroad 
Company ; Dr. George K. Birchett, Dr. James C. Newman, Dr. 
Church, Dr. Robert J. Turnbull, Dr. Daniel B. Nailor and Dr. 
Willis M. Green, the brother of General Duff Green, the distin- 
guished journalist. 

During the early settlement of the county, when the tributa- 
ries of the Mississippi were full, flat-boats passed out of the Mis- 
sissippi river through Yazoo Pass, Coldwater and Tallahatchie 
into the Yazoo river to Yazoo City with produce of all kinds, to 
supply the demands along the circuitous route. Keel-boats were 
conducted through the chain of lakes north of Vicksburg to the 
Yazoo river through Chickasaw bayou. 

The county site was at Warrenton up to 1886, when by a vote 
of the people it was changed to Vicksburg. When the new 
courthouse was finished Rev. Edwin G. Cook was appointed 
clerk of the county and probate courts and John M. Henderson 
clerk of the circuit court. The wife of the venerable Mr. Cook 
before mentioned, was the granddaughter of Levin Wailes, who 
was the son of Sarah Howard and Benjamin Wailes. Levin 
Wailes was appointed by President Jefferson surveyor of public 
lands south of Tennessee. He died in Washington, Adams 
county, in this State, and was succeeded by B. L. C. Wailes, who 
was subsequently State geologist, and made a most valuable 
report on the agriculture and geology of Mississippi, embracing 
a sketch of the social and natural history of the State, which was 
published by order of the Legislature thirtj'-six years ago. 

When Vicksburg had grown to be a city and magnificent steam- 
boats were borne upon the bosom of the great river, and as the 
early settlers passed away, their places in the learned professions, 
banking circles, mercantile and other pursuits, were filled by 
persons of learning, ability, enterprise and business methods, 



596 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

and the few survivors of the daj'^s of yore point with pi'ide to 
the founding of the city, its then restricted resources and hard- 
ships, and its present imposing proportions and commercial im- 
portance. The city now has four banks, two cotton compresses, 
two cotton seed oil mills, two sash factories and planing mills, two 
foundries, three Episcopal churches, one of which is for colored 
people; two Methodist churches, one large Catholic church, and 
a convent school for girls and another for boys called the 
"Brothers' School ;" one church for each of the Baptist and 
Presbyterian denominations, all handsome and imposing build- 
ings, besides a number of churches lor the colored people. The 
city has two daily papers, one of which is an afternoon paper. 
It has gas and electric lights, two new large and commodious 
hotels, one of which has recently been completed, and the other 
is nearly finished ■ each of these hotels have all modern improve- 
ments. The place has a large and handsome cotton exchange. 
The city has a splendid system of water works, and has fine pub- 
lic schools, with large and commodious buildings for each race, 
white and colored. It has also a most eflScient fire brigade, with 
three steam engines, hook and ladder companies, etc. 

The banks have abundant capital and the merchants are active, 
intelligent and progressive and enjoy first-rate credit in the great 
commercial marts of the country. It is constantly growing and 
extending its business operations and is increasing its prosperit}'^. 
It is the largest city in the State. 

The towns in addition to Vicksburg are Bovina and New 
Town. 

The principal streams are the Mississippi, Yazoo and Big 
Black rivers, also Long, McNutt and other lakes. 

The railroads are the Louisville, New Orleans and Texas ; the 
Vicksburg and Meridian, recently changed and now called the 
Alabama and Vicksburg; and the Vicksburg, Shreveport and 
Pacific. 

Warren county has 91,793 acres of cleared land; average 
value per acre $14.18; total value, including incorporated towns 
and cities, $4,351,769. 

The population as shown by the census of 1890 : whites, 8,643; 
colored, 24,516; total, 33,159. 

Senators. Representatives. 

1820 Henry D. Downs. Jas. Gibson. 

1821 William Willis. Francis Griffin. 

1822 Ralph Regan. Jacob Hyland. 
i823-'25 Tliomas Freeland. Jas. Gibson. 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 



597 



1826 

1827 

1828- 

1830 

1831 

1833 

1835 

1836 

1837 
1838 

1839 



Thomas Freeland. 
Harden D. Runnels. 
■'29 Henry W. Vick. 
Henry W. Vick. 
John I. Guion. 
John I. Guion. 
Eugene Magee. 



Thos. J. Green. 
T. J. Green. 



1840 T. T. Green. 

1 84 1 T. J. Green. 

i842-'43 John I. Guion. 
1844 John I. Guion. 
1846 |ohn I. Guion. 
1848 Wm. A. Lake. 
1850 J. E. Sharkey. 
1852 J. E Sharkey. 
18544 A. H Arthur. 
l856-'57 A, H. Arthur. 
1858 A. H. Arthur. 
l859-'6o-'6i C. L. Buck. 
i86i-'62 C. L. Buck, 
1865 Chas, Svvett. 
i866-'67 Chas. Swett. 
l870-'7i A. Mygatt.T. W. Strin- 
ger. 
i872-'73 P, B. Barrow, A. Mygatt. 

1874-75 C. E. Furlong. 

i876-'77 T. C. Catchings, C. E 
Furlong. 

1878 Warren Cowan, C. E. Fur- 
long. 

1880 Warren Cowan, G, K. Bir- 
chett. 

1882 Warren Cowan, W. R. 
Spears. 

1884 Martin Marshall. 

1886 Geo. M. Batchelor. 

1888 Geo. M. Batchelor. 
1890 Patrick Henry. 



Henry W. Vick. 

Jas. Gibson. 

Wm. L. Sharkey. 

Albert G. Creath. 

Gibeon Gibson. 

Wm. Vick. 

Wm. Vick. 

S. S. Prentiss, T. J. Green. 

S. S. Prentiss, T. J. Green. 

Egbert J. Sessions, J. Gwinn, J. M. Chilton. 

Egbert J. Sessions, Robt. Garland, B. S, 

Springer. 
John I. Guion. 
A. C. Downs, P. W. Tompkins, Jacob S. 

Yerger. 
P. W. Tompkins, John M. Chilton. 
E. J. Sessions, J. Nailor, J, S. Yerger. 
J. E. Sharkey, M. Emanuel. 

D. B Nailor, E. Mason. 

E. G. Marble. R. K. Arthur. 
Thos. A. Marshall, E. G. Marble. 
Simeon B. Newman, C. L. Buck. 

David Gibson, C. L. Buck, Jas. C. Newman. 

W. C. Smedes. 

W. C. Smedes, W. A. Lake. 

W. H. Johnson, F. R. Tuiley. 

D. A Cameron. 

D. A Cameron. 

C. A. Foster, C. S Langdon, C. P. Head, P. 
P. Barrow, A. Johnson. 

H. C. Carter, W. H. Mallory. I, D. Shadd. 
G. E. Hasey, C. W. Bush. 

W. W. Edwards, G. W. Chavis, I. D. Shadd. 
G. E. Hase>, G. M. Boyd. 

J. L. Hebron, Ham C. Carter, W. W. Ed- 
wards, Jno. P. Hogan. 

Martin Marshall, W. C. Pegram, J. W. Good- 
rum. 

Jas Gibson, Jr., S. T. Fortson, W. R. 
Spears, W. R. Billingslea. 

Jas Gibson, W. W. Edwards. J. W. Bourne, 
M. Coates. 

T. M. Miller, A. W. Brien, M. Coates. 

L. W. Magruder, H. C. McCabe, D. H. 
Alverson. 

L. W. Magruder, Murray F. S.nith, J. H. 
Brabston. 

L. W. Magruder, T. G Birchett, J. H. 
Brabston. 



WASHINGTON COUNTY 

Was organized January 29th, 1827, and so called in honor of the 
father of his country. 

Among the early settlers in Washington county were the 
brothers Turnbull, Eobert J. and Andrew, with their cousin, Dr. 
Charles Turnbull, South Carolinians ; the brothers, Andrew and 



598 HISTOUY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

Ambrose Knox, Col. Wade Hampton, the son of Major-General 
Wade Hampton, and his two sons, General Wade Hampton, the 
present Senator from South Carolina, and his brother Christopher 
Hampton, also South Carolinians ; Thomas B. Kershaw, of the 
same State; Captain Henry and Edward P. Johnson, of the his- 
toric Johnson family of Kentucky j George W. and Junius Ward, 
Thomas B. and Elisha Warfield, also Kentuckians ; General 
McAllister and James W. McCutchen ; the Cox brothers, Alfred, 
John G., Phillip and Seth, all of whom were born in Mississippi; 
Howell Hinds, the son of General Thomas Hinds, the soldier in 
command of Mississippi troops at the battle of New Orleans, who 
was so highly complimented by General Jackson in general 
orders; Col. Henry W. Vick, andhis nephew, Captain John Wil- 
lis, who commanded a company in the famous First Mississippi 
Eegiment in Mexico ; Robert Carter, and his brother Alfred G., 
Henry T. Irish, Dr. John L. Chapman, the Dudley's, Wm. Brad- 
ley, John A. Miller, Benjamin Smith, long a citizen of Claiborne 
county, and his daughter FranciSjWho inherited his princely estate, 
and subsequently married Alexander C. Bullet, the distinguished 
journalist of New Orleans ; Albert Metcalf, a member of the his- 
toric Metcalf family in Kentucky ; William A. Scott, the son of 
Governor Abram M. Scott; the Eggs,' the Boyce's, David Sug- 
getts, William Griffin, Stephen Jackson and his brother; Major 
William Hunt, the father of the present William E. Hunt, for 
many years sheriff of the county ; William R. Campbell, Samuel 
Worthington, Isaac Worthington and Dr. William Worthington, 
William R. Perkins, William B. Prince, in honor of whom Prince- 
ton, the former county site, was named; Harvey Miller, Jeffrey 
James, Abram F. Smith, Benjamin Roach, William Blanton, a 
portion of whose plantation is now occupied by the present city 
of Greenville ; Hon. Jacob S. Yerger, who for years was the 
able and popular judge of the river district, was the father of 
William G. Yerger, one of the most prominent lawyers in the 
Yazoo and Mississippi Delta ; has represented Washington county 
in the State Senate and was a delegate to the Constitutional Con- 
vention of 1890; Robert P. Shelby, D. Hardeman, Dr. William 
H. Hammett, a brilliant and showy man, who became probate 
judge of the county, and subsequently a Representative in Con- 
gress, and Andrew J. Paxton, the younger brother of the late 
Wm. H. and Major Alexander M. Paxton, a nephew of the late 
Alexander G. McNutt, and one of the Representatives of Wash- 
ington county in the late Constitutional Convention. Any refer- 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPI'I. 599 

ence to settlers and citizens of Washington county would be 
incomplete without that of the late Col. Wm. A. Percy, a resi- 
dent of the thriving city of Grreenville, and for years prior to his 
death, in Januarj', 1888, the most prominent figure in the Yazoo 
and Mississippi Delta. He was an Alabamian by birth, though hi.% 
father was a native of Natchez, Mississippi. Colonel Percy was 
a graduate of Princeton, and of the law department of the Uni- 
versity of Virginia. He entered the Confederate service as Cap- 
tain of the first company which left the county, subsequently 
served on the staff of Gen. John S. Bowen, during the siege of 
Vicksburg, and was later chief of ai'tillery. At the close of the 
war he resumed the practice of law and soon took rank with the 
ablest members of the bar, the firm of which he was senior mem- 
ber receiving probably a larger income than any other in the 
State. Exacting as were the demands of his profession he de- 
voted much of his time to the discharge of public duties, and the 
calls of his fellow-citizens always met a prompt response. While 
generally circumscribed by his section, public and private duties 
were arduous, but his superior administrative ability was equal 
to any emergency. Here was the very heart of what is known 
as the race question, involving at the time of a great crisis the 
peace of the State. Here was decided the stability of the levee 
system, upon which so largely depended the revenues and prop- 
erty of Mississippi. Of these questions Colonel Percy was the 
recognized leader and guide of his people. The political re- 
demption, the material development and the ultimate prosperity 
of the Delta was the central idea of his life. He was a pioneer and 
chief promoter of the railroads which at last entered and 
threaded Mississippi's fertile low country, and so wonderfully 
multiplied its comforts and wealth. Leading his people in 
that profound movement which resulted in the overthrow of 
base and alien rule in 1875, Colonel Percy was chosen to the Leg- 
islature and became one of the noted and influential members of 
that body. He was a member of the famous Impeachment Com- 
mittee. Of the next House of Kepresentatives he was Speaker ; 
this was his only public office, though in the especial service of 
the levee interest he attended sessions of Congress, and Conven- 
tions, State, Commercial and National. He was delegate from 
the State at large to the National Convention of 1880. 

The foregoing is a brief sketch of the ''Grey Eagle of the 
Delta," as his admiring friends loved to call him. Ho possessed 



600 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

that highest ol nature's gifts, personal magnetism, that drew to him 
people of all classes, creeds and conditions. At the time of 
Colonel Percy's untimely death he had taken such place in the 
minds of Mississippians that it was only a question of years when 
he would have been placed in high official station. How great 
would have been his success upon a broader field there are no 
means of judging, for he was equal to every occasion presented 
and to every obstacle encountered. 

The first county site of Washington, after its organization, 
was wholly formed out of the territory previouslj^ embraced in 
Yazoo county, which was located at Princeton on the Mississippi 
river, with Lake Jackson in its rear. 

After a few years the county site was removed to the town of 
Greenville, on the Mississippi river, a mile or more below the 
present site of the city of Greenville. It is worthy of remark 
that both the town of Princeton and the first town of Greenville 
have entirely disappeared. The great river has engulfed them 
beneath its remorseless waves, and no vestige remains to tell 
where people once lived and loved and were moved by human 
passions and human aspirations. 

The present towns in the county are Greenville, having a pop- 
ulation of 8,000 or more. This is a distributive point, being im- 
mediately on the river with excellent railroad facilities. There 
is purchased and shipped from Greenville a large amount of cot- 
ton. There are in the city four banks, and it requires their com- 
bined capital to move the cotton, and at the same time supply 
required funds to develop the uncleared fertile lands. The city 
has a compress, oil and ice factories, electric lights, street rail- 
roads, etc. The other towns in the county are Leland, Areola, 
Hollondale, Stoneville and Scota. 

The principal streams and lakes are the Mississippi river on 
the west, Bogue Phalia and Sunflower rivers. Black Bayou, 
Deer Creek, Lakes Washington, Jackson and Lee. 

The railroads traversing the county are the Louisville, New 
Orleans & Texas Railroad, with its branches or loops, and the 
Georgia Pacific with one branch. 

Washington county has 212,548 acres of cleared land, the av- 
erage value of which per acre, as rendered to the assessor, is 
S13.28; total value of cleared lands, including incorporated 
towns and cities, $4,341,913. 

The population, as shown by the census report of 1890 : Whites, 
4,619; colored, 38,703 ; total, 43,322. 



HISTORY OB^ MISSISSIPf*!. 



601 



Sf.n'ators. 

828 Honry W. Vick. 
829-30 Henry W Vick. 
831 John I. Guion. 
833 John I. Guion. 
835 Eugene Magee. 
S36 Eugene Magee. 
S37-'38 Jas. D. Hallam. 

839 Felix Walker. 

840 Alfred Cox, 

841 Jas. M. Matlock, 
842-'43 Andrew Knox. 
844 Andrew Knox. 
846 Felix Labauve. 
848 J. J B. White. 
850 J. J. B. White. 
852 W, L. Johnston. 
854 W. L Johnston. 
856 Peter B. Starke. 
857-'58 Reter B. Starke. 
859-'6o-'6i Peter B. Starke. 
86i-'62 Peter B. Starke. 
865-'66-'67 W. S, Yerger. 
870 Wm. Gray. 

881 Wm Gray. 
872-'73 Wm. Gray. 
874-'75 Wm. Gray. 
876-'77 Wm. Gray. 

878 W. S. Farish- 
880 W. S. Anderson. 

882 H R Jeffords. 
884 H. R. Jeffords. 
886 Wm. G. Yerger. 

888 Wm. G. Yerger. 
890 Joseph M. Jayne. 



Repr ESENTATI V ES. 

Wm. B. Prince. 
P. A. Gilbert. 
Claudius Gibson. 
R. p. Shelby. 
R. P. Shelby. 
Alfred Cox. 
Alfred Cox. 
Alfred Cox. 
S. R. Dunn. 
S. R. Dunn. 
R. P. Shelby. 

D. W. Connely. 
A. F. Smith. 

A. K. Smedes. 
T. J. Likens. 
C. R. Bass. 
Charles L. Robards. 
A. F. Smith. 

F. Valliant. 

G. R. Fall. 
J. L. Meares. 

C. W. Clark, J. Morgan, Dr. Stites. 

J. A Ross, J. Morgan, Dr. Stipes. 

J. H Morgan, John D. Webster. 

W H. Harris, J H. Morgan. 

Wra. A. Percy, J. B. Young, S, A. Sander- 
lin 

Wm. A. Percy, Wade Hampton, Jr. 

John W, Shields, Peter Mitchell. 

W, W, Stone, Peter Mitchell. 

S. M. Spencer, ]. R. Parker, Gilbert Horton. 

W. R. Trigg, J." T. Atterbury, Peter Mitch- 
ell. 

R. B. Campbell, John T. Casey, W. H. 
Harris. 

E. N. Thomas, John T, Casey, J. F. Harris. 



WAYNE COUNTY 

W:i8 established in 1809, and was named in honor of Greneral 
Anthony Wayne, who was a conspicuous figure among the pa- 
triots of the American revolution. 

General James Patton, afterwards Lieutenant-Governor of 
the State ; William Patton, Joseph Patton, William Webber, 
and Zachariah Eogers located in what is now the county, 
three years before its organization, and Captain George Evans 
and John Evans came about the same time from Kershaw dis- 
trict, South Carolina, with pack-horses. The Slays and Sumralls 
came from Chesterfied district. South Carolina, two years later, 
and brought their belongings on pack-horses and in rolling hogs- 
heads. William Poe and Alexander Poe came from Chesterfield 



602 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

district, South Carolina, in 1811, and brought their effects on 
pack-horses and rolling hogsheads. They have numerous de- 
merous descendants in Wayne and other counties in east Missis- 
sippi. They are honorable, upright people, favor law and order, 
and are in all respects worthy citizens. At a later day, but in the 
early settlement of the county, were Gen. William A. Lang, Wil- 
lis and Stephen Lang, John McEae, tather of Governor John 
J. McRae; John H, Horn, Collins Horn, father of James A. 
Horn, former Secretary of State; General Thomas P. Falconer, 
State Senator from the Senatorial district in which he re- 
sided, and delegate to the Constitutional Convention of 1832 ; 
the families of McCarty, McLaughlin, Edwards. Chapman, Hen- 
dricks, Collins, Horn, Watts, Gray, Toole, Gordon, Cole, 
Grayson, Crosby, Hugh McLetiden, Kelly, Warren, Jones, 
Brown, Howze, Falconer, Strickland, Lewis, Hutto, Barber, 
Keasly, Cook, Arrington, Harmon, Parker, Ivey, Odum, Hailes, 
Tibby, Clai'ke, Shepherd, Cooley, King, Bush, Wiraberly, Davis, 
Colquohoon, James Mayers, a tailor by trade, tather of Judge A. 
G. Mayers, who has been on the circuit court bench for fourteen 
years, and now the presiding judge of the eighth judicial dis- 
trict, and of Captain P. K. Mayers, who has been the greater 
part of .his life, and is now, a prominent journalist of this State, 
residing at Scranton. James Mayers was a native of Richmond, 
Virginia, his father an Israelite, After settling in Wayne county 
and working at his trade, because of his abilities he was ap- 
pointed and elected by the people justice of the peace, clerk of 
the court, sheriff and probate judge, and served in the several 
positions most acceptably. James Patton and Clinch Gray were 
delegates to the Constitutienal Convention of 1817. 

Winchester, the county site, was for many years a flourishing 
village. It was on the most direct road from the Carolinas and 
Georgia, via St. Stephens, Alabama, to Natchez, on the Missis- 
sippi river. The county site was removed many years ago to 
Waynesboro, and there is now scarcely a vestige of Winchester. 

Wayne county was in early day the residence of man}'' men 
who filled important public trusts in the State, among whom 
may be named James Patton, John. A Gimbrall, John H. Mallory, 
John H. Rollins, John J. McRae, Powhatan Ellis, Thomas A. 
Willis, Thos. S. Sterling, Thomas P. Falconer, James A. Horn, 
James McDugald, Phillip H. Napier and John Watts. 

A fort was erected at Winchester to protect the settlers 
against the Creek Indians, and General James Patton was elected 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. €03 

commander. The settlers had no fear of the Choctaws. Mark 
Cole and Max'sh Crane were selected as scouts to watch and 
learn the movements of the Creeks in Alabama. In the per- 
formance of their duty, they brought the first news of the mas- 
sacre of Fort Mims, which occurred on the 30th day of August, 
1813. 

Fort Mims was the home of Samuel Mims, a gentleman of 
wealth, on Lake Tensaw_, in the southern part of what is now 
Alabama. He had enclosed with upright logs an acre of ground 
contiguous to his house, and had prepared port holes a suita- 
ble distance for protection from the ground. The neighbors 
when alarmed by the approach of hostile Indians, resorted to 
this place for defence. The massacre is referred to in preceding 
pages. 

The remains of the fort at Winchester are to be seen to this 
day. 

The principal streams in Wayne county are Chickasahay Eiver, 
Buckatunna, Ucutta, Cold Water, Yellow, Thompson's, Big and 
Red Creeks. 

Waynesboro, the county site, is on the line of the Mobile & 
Ohio Railroad. 

The county has a quantity of fine timber and much excellent 
lands, with a contented population. 

There are 22,198 acres of cleared land in the county, the value 
of which, as rendered to the assessor, is $3.29 per acre. The 
total value of cleared lands, including incorporated towns is 
$119,848. 

The Mobile and Ohio Railroad traverses the county from near 
Shubuta in Clarke to State Line. 

The population of Wayne as shown by the census report of 
1890: Whites, 5,769 J colored, 4,041; total, 9,810. 

Senators. Representatives. 

1820-21 Howell W. Runnels. Josiah Watts. 

1822 Bartlett C Barry. S. W. Dickson, Josiah Watts. 

1823 Bartlett C. Barry. S. W. Dickson. 

1825 Bartlett C. Barry. Edward Gray, William Patton. 

1826 William Dowsing. Thomas Sterling, John H. Horn. 
1827-28 Hamilton Cooper. Thomas S. Sterling. 

1829 Hamilton Cooper. John Horn. 

1830 Thomas S. Sterling. John H. Horn. 

183 1 Thomas S. Sterling. John A. Edwards. 
1833 John McLeod. John A. Edwards, 
1835 Thomas P. Falconer. Alfred Brown. 
1836-37 Hanson Alsbury. J. H. Horn. 
1838-39 Frederick Pope. Joseph Frost 
1840-41-42 John Watts. Joseph Frost. 



604 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

1843 Joseph Frost. 

1844-46 John H. Horn. Joseph Frost. 

1848-50-52 J. McAfee. John West. 

1854 — Graves. Samuel H. Powe. 

1856-57 S. B. Hathorn. Samuel H. Powe. 

1858 S. B. Hathorn. J. H. Horn. 
1859-60-61 Robert McLain. " fohn West. 

1861-62 Robert McLain. R. M. Tindall. 

1865 P. H. Napier. R. M. Tindall. 

1866-67 P. H. Napier. John West, Jr. 

1870 W. M. Hancock. William Yeoman. 

1871 John Watts. William Yeoman. 
1872-73 T. J. Hardy. S. G. Gaines. 
1874-75 T. L Mendenhall. — Thompson. 
1876-77 T. L. Mendenhall. John F. McCormick. 
1878-80 Stanley Gibert. John P. Seabrook. 
1882-84 James S. Eaton. Alexander T. Powe. 
1886-88 J. L. Morris. J. R. S. Pitts. 

1890 A. G. Ferguson. D M. Taylor. 



WEBSTEE COUNTY 

Was established April 6th, 1874. It was first called Sumner. The 
name was charged to Webster in 1882, in honor of the great ex- 
pounder of the Constitution, Daniel Webster. In the act crea- 
ting the county, authority was conferred upon the Governor to 
appoint five persons who should constitute a Board of Super- 
visors, charged with the duty of organizing the county. Au- 
thority was also given the Governor to appoint all county offi- 
cers, and at the same time requiring the new county to pay its 
proportion of the existing debt due by the counties out of which 
it was formed. 

While the county yet bore the name of Sumner, M. A. Metts, 
was its first, and J. E. Bridges, its second State Senator 
After the change of name to Webster, S. M. Eoane first repre- 
sented the county in the State Senate. 

The principal towns in Webster are Walthall, the county site, 
named in honor of Major-General Edward C. Walthall; Greens- 
boro, Cumberland, Cadaretta, Monte Vista, Bellefontaine and 
Fame. 

The streams are Big Black river, Horsepen_, Lindsey, Spring 
and Calabuta creeks. 

The Georgia Pacific railroad traverses the southern boundary 
of the county. 

Webster has 93,772 acres of cleared land, average value per 
acre $3.19 J total value, including incorporated towns, $336,119. 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 605 

The population as shown by the census report of 1890 : whiles, 
9,034; colored, 3,026; total, 12,060. 

Senators, Representatives. 

1875 M. A. Metts. 

1876 M. A. Metts. 

1877 M. A. Metts. Samuel E. Parker. 

1878 J. E. Bridges. 

1879 J. E. Bridges. 

1880 J E. Bridges. 
1882 S M. Roane. 
1884 S. M. Roane. 

1886 J. W. Barron, H. L. Burkitt. J. E. Bridges. 
1888 J. W. Barron, A. A. Mont- J. R. Nolen. 

gomery. 
1890 J. R. Nolen, A. A. Mont- G. W. Dudley. 

gomery. 



WILKINSON COUNTY 

Was established January 30th, 1802 ; carved out of Adams 
county and named in honor of Major-General James Wilkinson, 
commanding the United States armj^ during the territorial era 
of Mississippi. 

Among the early settlei'S of the county were Peter Smith, the 
father of Coteworth Pinckney Smith, who represented the county 
in both branches of the Legislature, was subsequently elected 
Judge of the High Court of Errors and Appeals, and was for 
some years prior to, and at the time of his death, its Chief Jus- 
tice. He has one son and one daughter living — the former, who 
bears the name of his father, a physician of high standing in 
Arkansaw City, and the latter, a young lady of rare culture re- 
siding in Jackson. John Dunkley, Thomas Kirkham, John L. 
Lewis, John Sapp and Judge Edward McG-ehee were early settlers; 
the latter a planter of large fortune and devoted to the Metho- 
dist church, of which he was an honored member. He donated 
to the church, subject to control of the conference, the attractive 
woodlawn and grounds at Woodville, upon which the Seminary 
is located. He was the owner of the noted woodlawn "Bowling 
Green,'' probably the handsomest in the State; it is one and a 
half miles in length and three-fourths of a mile in width and 
contains over eighty varieties of wood. Judge McGehee repre- 
sented the county as early as 1825. His son, Hon. George T. 
McGehee has also represented the county and was a member of the 
Constitutional Convention of 1890. Wilkinson county was repre- 
sented in the Constitutional Convention of 1817, by George 



606 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

Poindexter, Abram M. Scott, Gerard C. Brandon, Daniel Wil- 
liams, John Joor and Joseph Johnson. The three first named 
have been mentioned in preceding pages. Archibald McGehee, 
Landon Davis, Hugh Davis, Patrick Foley, Doctor Cooper, the 
father of General Douglas Cooper, General William L. Brandon, 
Wm. and James A. Ventress, Nolan Stewart, the father of Hon. 
Jas. D. Stewart, who represented the county in the Legislature 
in 1850, and since the war was State Senator from Hinds and 
Kankin and subsequently Eegister of United States Land Oflfice 
at Jackson by appointment of President Cleveland ; T. Jones 
Stewart, member of the State Senate, William Stewart, Hugh 
Connell, Wm. Stamps, Harry, Albert, C. C, and Pulaski Cage ; 
the first mentioned served as a member of Congress, and Hon. 
C. C. Cage was for some years circuit judge; William and Joseph 
Johnson, both of whom were members of the Legislature; John 
N. Evans, Frank Evans, George W. Carter, John Henderson, a 
member of the State Senate and subsequently a United States 
Senator; E. H. and Levin R. Wailes, Jerry Nolans, William Lind- 
sey, George B. and William Newell, William M. Tigner, Sir 
William Dunbar, a gentleman of scholarly attainments and 
scientist ; W. A. Richardson, Wm. Yerby, N. Liddell, Edward P. 
Parish, the father of Captain Wm. S. Parish, district attorney ; 
Gerard C. Brandon and Joseph Johnson were delegates to the 
Constitutional Convention of 1832 ; William Haile, M. P. Degraf- 
fenreid, Thos. B. Ellis, T. B. Hadley, Alfred T. Moore and Pres- 
ton W. Farrar, served as State Senators; John Poindexter, John 
Sims, Col. Sample, Doctor Carmichael, Rev. Doctor William 
Winans, a distinguisned Methodist divine. Some years later 
were the Hooks family, H. F. Simrall, who represented the 
county in the Legislature, was Judge of the Supreme Court and 
for some years its chief justice. 

The towns in the county are Woodville, the county site, Cen- 
treville and Fort Adams. 

The principal streams are Homochitto river, Buffalo, Percy, 
Bayou Sara, Thompson's, Cooks and Dunbar creeks. The Mis- 
sissippi river forms the western boundary of the county. 

Wilkinson has 104,889 acres of cleared land; the average value 
per acre as rendered the assessor, is $6.68 ; the total value of 
cleared lands, including incorporated towns, is $915,603. 

The population as shown by the census of 1890 : whites, 
3,864 ; colored, 13,727 ; total, 17,591. 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 



607 



Senators. 

820 Joseph Johnson. 

821 John Joor. 

822 Abram M. Scott. 

823 John Joor. 

825 John Joor. 

826 Abiam M. Scott. 

827 Abram M. Scctt. 

828 Jcseph Johnson. 

829 Joseph Johnson. 

830 C. P.Smith. 

831 C. P Smith. 

833 Thos. H. Prosser. 

835 John Henderson. 

836 John Henderson. 

837 Alfred T. Moore. 
838-'39 Preston W, Farrar. 

840 Preston W. Farrar. 

841 Truxton Davidson. 
842-'43 Jas. A. Ventress. 
844 Jas. A. Ventress. 
846- '48 T. J. Stewart. 
850 T. J Stewart. 

852 A. K. Farrar. 
854 A. K. Farrar. 
856-57 A. K. Farrar. 
858 A. K. Farrar. 
859-'6o-'6i Geo H Gordon. 
86i-'62 Geo. H. Gordon. 
865-'66-'67 Moses Jackson. 
87o-'7i Wm. H. Gibbs. 
872-'73 Wm. H. Gibbs. 
874 Geo. W. White. 
874-'75 Geo. W. White. 
876-'77 Geo. W. White. 
878 Moses Jackson. 
880 Moses Jackson. 
882 Thos. V. Noland. 
884 Thos. V. Noland. 
886 Wm. F. Love. 
888 Wm. F, Love. 
890 J. H. Jones. 



Representatives. 

A. M. Scott, Moses Liddell, William John- 
son. 

G. C. Brandon, W, A. Richardson, Wm. 
Yerby. 

Geo. Poindexter, M. Liddell, Wm. Yerby. 

Gerard C. Brandon, M. Liddell, H. Cage, 
Geo. Poindexter, Jos. Johnson. 

Joseph Johnson, Ed. McGehee, Wm. Haile. 

Wm. Haile, C. P. Smith, W. L. Brandon. 

C. P. Smith, M. F. Degraffenreid. 
Thos. G. Ellis, r. B.J. Hadley. 

M. F. Degraftenreid, Jacob Chambers. 

E, F. Parish, M. F. Degraffenreid. 

M. F. Degraffenreid, Geo. H. Gordon. 

G. D. Boyd, F. Richardson. 

G. D. Boyd, F. Richardson, 

J. A. Ventress, P. W. Farrar, G. H. Gordon. 

J. A. Ventress, I'. W. Farrar. 

Jas. A. Ventress, Spencer Wood, 

Jas. A, Ventress, W. A. Norris. 

Jas. A. Ventress, Wm. A. Norris, 

Wm. A. Norns, H. D. Cooper. 

D. H. Cooper. 
H. F Simrall. 
James D. Stewart. 
J. H. Sims. 

Geo. H. Gordon. 

L. K. Barber. 

Geo. H. Gordon. 

H. S. VanEaton. 

Thos. H. Williams. 

H. F. Simrall. 

H. N. Foley, Geo. W. White. 

H. N. Foley, Geo, W, White. 

E. H. Osgood, S. W. Fitzhugh. 
S. W. Fitzhugh, J. W. Shattuck. 
Samuel Riley, J. W. Shattuck. 

Geo. T, McGehee, Jno. A. Redhead, 
Geo. T. McGehee, T. V. Noland. 
P. L. Ferguson, Hugh L, Davis. 
D. C. Bramlett, Geo. H. Peets, 
J. H. Jones, T. V. Noland. 
J. H. Jones, W, A. Dickson. 
T. V. Noland, W. A, Dickson, 



CHAPTER XXXV. 



WINSTON COUNTY 

Was established December 23d, 1833, and named for Col. Winston, 
commander of a regiment during the Territorial period. Two 
daj^s later, by an act of the Legislature, Booth Malone, James 
Bevil, and Erasmus L. Acee were appointed commissioners to 
organize the county. 

Among the early settlers were Jesse M. Fields the first Eepre- 
sentative from the county; B. Foster, W. H. Fox, Isaac Jones, 
W. B. Hudson, Thos. Jordan, John H. Buckner, Jesse I. Dodson, 
W. T. Lewis, Amzi Meek, James Meek, Amzi Carrigues, Wm. 
McDonald, J. Whitehead, Henry Martin, James Hudson. Joseph 
Bell, who represented the county in both branches of the Legis- 
lature fifty years ago, was known in an early daj'^ as General 
Bell, being Brigadier-General of the militia, and served one term 
as Secretary of State ; was also for a number of years connected 
with the United States land office at Jackson j Rev.. Jas Martin, 
Andy Webb, Wm. Fox, John Fagin, who was the first circuit 
clerk of the county ; Jos. P. Crostlj* was the first probate clerk 
and W. H. Hardy the first sheriff of the county. A log court- 
house was consiructed in 1834; at that time Bynum and Reese 
and Long B. Lewis were engaged in merchandising. 

The towns in the county are Louisville, the county site, Platts- 
burg, Webster, Winstonville^ Coopwood, Singleton, Pughs, 
Fearn Springs, Noxupater and Randall's Bluff. 

The streams are Noxupater, Talla Haga and Waaya creeks, 
and the Lobutchie and Noxubee rivers. 

Winston has 51,069 acres of cleared land ; average value per 
acre, $3.03. Total value, including incorporated towns, $184,432. 

The population of the county as shown by the census report 
of 1890: Whites, 6,977; colored, 5,072; total, 12,049. 

Senators. Representatives. 

1835 Jesse M. Field. 

1836 Isaac Jones. 

1837 Geo. B. Augusiu« John H. Buckner. 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 



609 



1838 Geo. B. Augustus. 
i839-'40-'4i Geo. B. Augustus. 

1842 Joseph Bell. 

1843 Joseph Bell. 

1844 Joseph Bell. 

1846 Anderson W. Dabney. 
1848 Anderson \V. Dabney. 
1850 Thomas J. Hughes. 
1852 Thomas J. Hughes. 
1854 Joseph Roger. 
i856-'57 Joseph Koger. 
1858 J. B. Covington. 
i859-'6o-'6i J. B. Covington. 
i86i-'62 G. D. Moore. 
i865-'66'-67 W. D. Lyles. 
i87o-'7i T. W. Castle. 
i872-'73 T. W. Castle. 

1874 S. W. Smythe. 

1875 M. A. Metts. 
i876-'77 M. A. Metts. 
1878 J. E. Bridges. 
1880 J. E. Bridges. 
1882 S. M. Roane. 
1884 S. M. Roane. 
1886 H. J. Gully. 
1888 H. y.Yiullv. 
1890 W.F. Roeers. 



Wm. McDaniel. 

Joseph Bell. 

Thomas D. Connell. 

John Coalter. 

T. J. Hughes, Charles T. Murphy, 

S. W. Smythe, T. J. Hughes. 

S. W. Godfrey, M. T. Collier. 

Willis Kelley, W. B. Smith. 

S. W. Smythe, Erastus Huntley. 

O. B. Covington, Hugh McQueen. 

S. W. Smythe, M. A. Metts. 

G. C. Lynch, John Coulter. 

T. P. Miller, G. G. Beaman. 

Wm. T. Lewis, Wm. Kirk, 

W. W. Caperton, J. S. Reid. 

W. B. Owings. 

M. A. Metts. 

Graham. 

Graham. 

Wm. B. Johnson. 
M, A. Metts, 
M, A. Coleman. 
Henry J. Gully. 
R. C. Jones. 
O. C. Watson. 
T. P. King. 
J. L. H. Strait, 



YALOBUSHA COUNTY 

Was established December 23, 1833, and two days later by an 
act of the Legislature, Jesse B, Garth, John H. Byers, Green 
Hastings, Samuel Gwin, A. S, Campbell, Wm. J, Oldham, Samuel 
B. Marsh, Robert Dawson and John H. McKinney were appointed 
commissioners to organize the county. 

In an early day the rival towns, Pittsburg and Tullahoraa, were 
established on adjoining sections of land by two widely known 
politicians, the former by Governor Hiram G. Runnels, and the 
latter by Franklin E. Plummer. The rivalry was participated in 
by the citizens of the two villages, to the detriment of each from 
a social and financial standpoint. The strife culminated in the 
consolidation of the two, and the building up of the prosperous 
town of Grenada. 

Among the earliest settlers of the county were Capt. John 
Smith, James Sims, C. H. Guy, Nathan Howard, R, T. Byerly, 
M, H, Melton, Thomas Slack, Dr. Allen Gillespie, Bouthea, 
Ralph Coffman, G. D. Mitchell, John S, M. Orvell, Robert Bding- 
ton ; Allen Walker, the two latter represented the county in the 
Legislature ; John Balfour, Joseph Bullock, Major Jack Williams, 
Larkin Cleveland, G. K. Morton, A. S, Brown, John B. Pass, 
39 



610 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

Daniel Robinson, Clark Dugan, Dr. Howell, N. Edmunds, A. C. 
Baine, John C. Abbott, Henry Williams, George and Levin Lake, 
William and James Minter, George Thompson, L. R.Stewart; the 
three latter represented the county in the Legislature; Thomas 
B. Ives, who represented the count}^ in the State Senate ; S. W. 
Ford, Robert Williams, Judge Lucas, L. P. Peacock, John Bric- 
lor, Thomas Scott, John Reed, G. W. Mayhew, James Winter, A. 
C Chisholm, John Baker, Matthew Clinton, Virgil A. Stewart, 
who acquired notoriety in exposing the crimes and causing the 
capture and conviction of the notorious marauder, John A. Mur- 
rell, who was sent to the penitentiary from Tennessee; General 
T, C. McMackin, the famous hotel keeper, who never had an 
equal in his line in the southern country, commenced his career 
as a tavern-keeper at old Hendersonville, four miles south of 
where Coffeevillo now stands ; E. S. Fisher, who served on both 
the circuit and supreme benches ; John S. Topp and F. A. Tyler, 
Tvho still survives his early brethren, were the lawyers of that 
day; Dr. Ship, Gabriel Ragsdale, Aurelius McRelus, David 
Maberry, James Barfield, the first sheriff of the county; Judge 
Carberry, Thomas Baker, John and William Brown, David Ray- 
burn, the Thomas and Jones families, Thomas Bridges, Major 
James N. Harper, John Durden, the families of Calhoun, Simons, 
Towns, Lee, Bean, Torrants, Williams, Kirkman, Wade, Oliver, 
Stone, Baker, Reddick and Eggleston, Judge Hale, Joseph 
Terry, Dr. Amos Vaughn, Alfred McCoslin, Robert Mullen, 
Robert Brooks, the Tolberts and Saunders, Shadrack Barnes, 
Sterling Harrison, Dr. Jacob Snyder, W. H. Whitaker, Samuel 
Pool, Samuel Smith, E. P. Stratton, Judge R. D. McLain, father 
of Hon. Wm. C. McLain, a prominent lawj'^er of Grenada^ and 
member of the Constitutional Convention of 1890 ; Wm. Duncan, 
Drs. R. C. Malone and Bell, Edward Hughes, Michael Milton^ 
Jas. Y. Blocker, N. B. Ingram, Geo. S. Golliday, who represented 
the county in the State Senate ; Jesse Pinley, Byrd Crawley, 
Samuel Chapman, Alexander Barksdale, Drs. Woods and Wil- 
bourne, Mrs. M. A. Powell and sons, William, Thomas and John 
Powell, Seth W. Jones, the families of Martin, Jennings, Hardy 
and Yorks. 

The towns are Coffeeville, the county site ; Water Valley, which 
forms a second circuit and chancery court district; the railroad 
machine shops, Yoeona cotton factory, and Shaw's foundry are 
located at this place, and Torrence ; these towns are on the Illi- 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 



611 



nois Central Eailroad ; Oakland, Grarner and Tillatoba are on the 
Mississippi and Tennessee Eailroad. 

The principal streams in the county are Yalobusha and Loosas- 
coona rivers; Abataprombogue, Oakhicama, Perry, Cypress and 
Turkey creeks. 

The Illinois Central Railroad runs through the county from 
north to south, and the Mississippi and Tennessee through the 
southern corner of the count}'. 

Yalobusha has 126,989 acres of cleared land ; average value as 
rendered to the assessor, ^4.46. The total value of cleared lands, 
including incorporated towns in the county, is $989,022. 

Population ol the county as shown by the census of 1890 : 
Whites, 7,618; colored, 9,011; total, 16,629. 
Senators. 
•1835 
1836 

1S37 Thos. B. Ives. 
i838-'39 Thomas B. Ives. 



1840 Thos. B. Ives. 

1841 Thos. B. Ives. 
i842-'43 Thos. B. Ives. 
1844 Thos. B. Ives. 
1846 Wm. B. Wilbourn. 
1848 Wm. B. Wilbourn. 
1850 G. S. Golliday. 
1852 G. S. Golliday. 
1854 H. Allen, Jr. 

1856 H. Allen, Jr. 

1857 C. H. Guy. 

1858 L. Brasher. 

1859 L. Brasher. 
i86o-'6i L. Brasher. 
i86i-'62 J. L. Davis. 
1865-66 M. D. L. Stephens. 
i87o-'7i H. L. Duncan. 

1872 H. L. Duncan. 

1873 H- L. Duncan. 
i874-'75 P- R' Thornton. 
i876-'77 P. R. Thornton. 
1878 D. W, Rogers. 
1880 D. W. Rogers. 
1882 Wm. A. Roane. 
1884 Wm. A. Roane. 
1886 S. M. Ross. 

1888 S. M. Ross. 
1890 T. W. Lamar. 



Representatives. 
Robert Edrington. 
Allen Walker. 
Allen Walker. 
James Minter, George Thompson, L. R. 

Stuart 

R. S. Rayburn, W. G. Kendall, L. R. Stuart. 
John Baldwin, John R. Mabry. 
A. C. Baine, James Wier. 
John Balfour, Daniel York. 
R. H. Leigh, C. H. Guy, Daniel York. 
H. Ray, James Weir, B. T. Cleveland. 
F. M. Aldridge, C. H Guy, J. B. Ashe. 

C. H. Guy, S. Parks, Lewis Aldridge. 
Sam. R. Garner, Robert E. Wynn, F. M. 

Aldridge. 
Sam. R. Garner, J. Q. Martin, C. G. Armis- 

tead. 
Sam. R. Garner, J. Q. Martin, C. G. Armis- 

tead. 

D. York, C. H. Guy, Black. 

C. G. Armistead, P. T. Williams. 
C. G. Armistead, J. J. Gage. 

A. P. Dunnaway, J. Burton. 
R. M. Brown, John L. Milton. 
M K. Mister, R. W. Jones. 
W. A. Benson. 

W. A. Benson, A. T. Roane. 

B. L. Wynn, D. W. Rogers. 
George H. Lester, D. W. Rogers. 
John M. Moore, A. T. Roane. 

M D. L. Stephens, J. J. Ross. 
Peter Johnson. J. L. Collins. 
W. V. Moore, D. W. Rogers. 
Willis Golliday, W. T. Young. 
A. H. Williamson, f. W. Lamar. 
W. V. Mooie, I. T.'Blount. 



YAZOO COUNTY 

Was established January 21st, 1823, taken from Hinds, and at 



012 HISTOKY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

the time of its organization embraced a large area of territory 
of what is now Madison, Holmes, Washington and Issaquena 
counties. The first county site was at Beattie's Bluff on Big 
Black; it took its name from the owners of the land, Eobert and 
David Beattie. 

The early settlers of Yazoo Avere James H. O'Neal and Martin 
Friley on O'Neil's creek in I8225 the lands located by these 
pioneers are now owned by their children. David and Elliott 
Ragsdale opened plantations where the town of Satartia is now 
located. A Mr. Hanau settled what is now Yazoo City, and 
known as Hanau's Bluff until 1829. Governor Hiram Gr. Run- 
nells, Judge Isaac Caldwell and Daniel W. Wright purchased the 
land and laid ofi" the town, which was called Manchester until 
1838, when it was changed to Yazoo City. The first gin in 
the county was at Hanau's BluflT, erected in 1826. The first 
saloon in the county west of Big Black was in this gin-house. 
Henry and Hiram Hagan settled the Tokeba plantation; Rich- 
ardson Bowman was a native of Ireland and came to America 
because of his connection with the Irish revolt of 1798 ; he first 
settled at Covington, Louisiana, and married Miss Riley, the 
daughter of a Revolutionary soldier. He was a soldier in the 
war of 1812 and at the battle of New Orleans, and was there 
promoted from the ranks to a first lieutenancy. After the war 
he removed to Pike county, in this State, and in 1826 to Yazoo, 
and settled on the table lands of Big Black ■ there in connection 
with his planting interests he engaged in merchandising — a man 
of enterprise, public spirit and a leading Democrat. This pioneer 
boy from the Emerald Isle accumulated a valuable estate, the 
lands of which are still owned by his sons and daughters, all of 
whom are honored and respected ; his son. Judge Robert Bow- 
man, of Yazoo City, is widely known as a leading lawyer and 
among Yazoo's most prominent citizens ; S. Collins, Charles 
Brumfield, the Picketts, Hendrick's, Heniy Vaughn, the latter 
now eighty-four years of age, owns and lives on the land he 
opened in an early day ; James and Thomas Ellison, W. H. Stub- 
blefield, Gid Pepper, James Bull, the Priesters, William P. Gad- 
berry, who donated the lands upon which Benton, the new 
county site, was located, he was the fii'st probate judge of the 
county, was probate clerk and the first postmaster, merchant and 
hotel-keeper in Benton ; his eldest son. Dr. W. Y. G-adberry, has 
been for foi-ty years a prominent physician of high reputation, 
widely known for learning and skill and at one time a medical 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 613 

professor in the city of Louisville, Kentucky ; Eiehard M. Green, 
who built the first mill in Yazoo county; his son, Dr. J. F. Green, 
is now a practicing physician of high standing in Yazoo City ; 
Otho Bell, who was the first sheriflF of the county, and after the 
organization of Holmes, was the first sheriff of that county ; John 
Everett, John M. Sharp, a successful planter and member of the 
Legislature ; Gabriel, Eiehard and William Swayze, Steven and 
A. H. Luse, who came from Adams county; their descendants 
own large tracts of land inherited from their ancestors; John 
Dowd, James Hart and Doctor Gale, who invested largely in lands 
on the lower Yazoo ; Silver Creek was settled by Eobert Morris, 
Benjamin Eoach, Wm. C. Harris, W. E. Hill, John Woolfolk and 
Wm. Lambreth ; John S. Young was the first circuit clerk of the 
county; Eobert S. G. Perkins, Morgan L. Fitch, Algernon Duval 
and Eobert Campbell were among the earliest lawyers; the latter 
served as probate judge of the county ; John Battaile, a lawyer 
of literar}^ culture; Wm. E. Miles, aKentuckian by birth, settled 
in Yazoo to practice his profession, the law; did a large and 
lucrative practice, is a gentleman of distinguished ability, in 
politics was a Whig, and forty years or more ago was among 
the foremost public speakers in the State; a fine story-teller, 
splendid presence, an unusual magnetism, it was difficult for even 
a Democrat to vote against Wm. E. Miles, who represented 
the county in the State Senate, and was a Brigadier-General in 
the Confederate army. Some years ago the venerable General 
retired to his plantation where he now resides surrounded by 
every luxury that can add to the comfort of old age. Edward 
C. Wilkinson, a lawyer of recognized ability, was associated 
in the practice with General Miles, as the senior partner of the 
film; he was judge of the circuit court of his district, and at one 
time a candidate for Judge of the High Court of Errors and 
Appeals, against Chief Justice W. L. Sharkey. Judge Wilkin- 
son was an uncle of United States Senator E. C. Walthall. E. 
S. Holt, James E, Burrus and Edward Bowman were lawyers of 
high standing; the latter of excellent attainments and engaging 
manners, died at an early age. George W. Doughei'ty, not a 
profound lawyer, but bright and quick with infinite humor and 
and jest. Morgan L. Fitch, who read law after settling at Ben- 
ton, and subsequently was elected circuit judge. Q. D. Gibbs, 
who oame to Manchester, now Yazoo City, in 1834 ; he was re- 
garded as the best commercial lawyer at the bar, ranked de- 
servedly high in his profession and was a gentleman of the 



614 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

greatest integrity; he represented the county in the Legislature, 
was the father of W. D. Gibbs, a lawyer and planter of Yazoo, 
who has represented the county in the Legislature, and for some 
years prominent in politics. Q. D. Gibbs was also the father of 
ex-Lieutenant-Governor Barnett Gibbs, of the cit}^ of Dallas, 
Texas, who is one of the leading men of that State, and most 
kindly remembered by his Mississsippi friends. W. E. Pugh, 
A. G. and S. E. Nye and Geo. B. Wilkinson, were lawyers in 
Yazoo at an early day. 

The first newspaper published in the county was the Yazoo 
Banner, by Philip Duval, a gallant and plucky man. The Yazoo 
Whig was established by James A. Stevens, in 1832. The first 
Democratic paper in the county was established by Major Ethel 
Barksdale, at Yazoo City, in 1845, and called the Yazoo Demo- 
crat; it was conducted with signal ability, and made for its editor 
the reputation of a forcible writer. The physicians in Benton 
were Dr. J. W. Morough, an Irishman, and a graduate of the 
University of Dublin, Dr. Ben. Hagerman, Dr. Wilkinson, Dr. 
Wm. Yandall, Dr. Burton Yandall, Dr. Hiram J. Thomas, Drs. 
Leake and Barnett, later Drs. Kidd and James, all physicians of 
high standing and extensive practice. Dr. Kidd was the hus- 
band of that gifted and accomplished lad}'^, Mrs. L. A. Kidd, now 
President of the North Texas Female College, located at the city 
of Sherman, one of the largest and best equipped schools in the 
Southern States. There may be also named among the early 
settlers in the lower end of the county, Samuel Marley, John B. 
Hall, Jonathan Bonney, Arnold Eussell, Dr. Isaac Hamberlin, 
Dr. Joel C. Rice, who was the father of the well known physi- 
cian, Dr. C. A. Eice, Fielding Cook, Wm. Hall, Henry Douglas, 
and Michael Kennedy, Robert Cage, whose eldest daughter mar- 
ried General Harry T. Hayes, who became an eminent lawj'er in 
New Orleans, and a Confederate soldier with the rank of Briga- 
dier General. General Hayes and his elder brother. Col. Jack 
Hayes, who will be remembered as the Colonel of the celebrated 
regiment of Texas Rangers, which he commanded with brilliant 
success in the Mexican war, were natives of Wilkinson county, 
Mississippi, and reared by their uncles Judge Harry W. and Rob- 
ert H. Cage. 

Among the early merchants at Benton were Philip P. Gadber- 
ry, T. H. and J. A. Rollins and Robert Jennings. 

The first merchants in Yazoo City, were B. P. Williams, P. B. 
Pope, George Jonas, Jas. Robinson and Richard Allen ; succeed- 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 615 

ing these were Fountain Barksdale, now a gentleman of advanced 
age, widely known and greatly respected, James Allen, Harrison 
& Hyatt, J. M. Delvin, R. F. Jennings, C. W. Wood, B. F. Bos- 
tick and Robt. Wilson; all these gentlemen did an extensive 
trade. 

Prior to the construction of the Illinois Central railroad, Yazoo 
City, was a commercial point ot much importance; it was the mar- 
ket for Yazoo, Holmes, Attala, Winston, Madison, Leake and 
Neshoba counties. There were shipped from the city annually, 
about sixty thousand bales of cotton. 

In 1827, an act was passed by the Legislature for the election 
of five commissioners to select a permanent seat of justice for 
the county. The 5th section of the act directed that the town 
when selected should be called Benton. The county site was 
subsequently removed to Yazoo City, which now has a popula- 
tion of nearly 5,000 and is among the handsomest and most 
attractive towns in the State. 

Satartia, Enola, Benton, Deasonville, Vaughn's Station, Free 
Run and Zeiglarsville, comprise the other towns in the county. 

The principal streams are the Yazoo river, which flows one 
hundred and forty miles through the center of the county, and 
the Sunflower and Big Black rivers ; Wolf Lake, a beautiful 
sheet of water a few miles northwest of Yazoo City, and Lake 
George ; both of these lakes are navigable during high water. 

The railroads in the county are the Illinois (Central, running 
north and south, and its branch road from Jackson via Yazoo 
City to Greenwood. 

There are 252,692 acres of cleared land ; average value of 
which, as rendered to the assessor, $8.08 per acre; total value, 
including incorporated towns $2,954,885. 

The population as shown by the census report of 1890 : whites, 
8,515 ; colored, 27,873 ; total, 36,388. 

Senators. Representatives. 

1825 Harden D. Runne's. Andrew E. Beaty. 

1826 Harden D. Runnels. Lindsay C. Hall, 

1827 Harden D. Runnels. Richard Sparks. 
i828-'29 Henry W. Vick. Richard Sparks. 

1830 Henry W. Vick. Thomas Land. 

1 83 1 Thomas Land. Richard Sparks, W. W. Walton. 

1833 David Ford. D. W. Vance, Alston. 

1835 Thomas Land. D. W. Vance, J. C, Bole. 

1036 C. E. Wilkinson, P. Duval. 

1837 Spence M. Grayson. R. C. Campbell, R. L. Adams. 

1838 Spence M. Grayson. T. B Woodward, M. A. Jenkins. 

1839 Spence M. Grayson. J. R. Burress, M. A. Jenkins. 



616 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 



1840 Robert C. Campbell. 

1841 Caleb D. Bonney. 
i842-'43 Robert Montgomery. 
1844 Robert Montgomery. 
1846 Wm. R. Miles, 

1848 J. J. B. White. 

1850 J. J. B. White. 

1852 W. L. Johnston 

1854 W. L. Johnston. 

1 856-' 5 7 Peter B. Starke. 

1858 Peter B. Starke. 

i859-'6o-'6i Peter B. Starke. 

i86i-'62 Peter B. Starke. 
. 1865 W. S. Yerger. 
. i866-'67 W. S. Yerger. 

i870-'7i Albert T. Morgan. 

i872-'73 Albert T. Morgon. 

1874 J. E. Everett. 

1875 J- E. Everett. 
i876-'77 J. E. Everett. 

1878 W. D. Gibbs. 
1880 W. D. Gibbs. 
1882 Wm. H. Luse. 

1884 Wm. H. Luse. 

1886 Wm. H. Luse. 

1888 Wm. H. Luse. 

1890 A. M. Hicks. 



J. R. Burns, John M. Sharp. 

Charles E. Mount, J. R. Burress. 

Charles E, Mount, B. Lewis. 

Wm R. Miles, Berry Lewis. 

G. W. Woodbury, R. L. Adams. 

T. P. Slade, H. J. Thomas. 

H. J. Thomas, H. B. Regan. 

C. Bowman, George W. Daugherty. 

James R. Burress, Harrison Barksdale. 

E M. Yerger, B. R. Holmes. 

W. L. Johnston, H. J. Thomas. 

H. Barksdale, H. J. Thomas. 

Q. D Gibbs. 

N. G. Nye. 

Alex. Montgomery. 

A. S, Wood, W. H. Foote, F. E. Franklin. 

J. E. Everett, James M. Di.xon, F. D. Wade. 

Walter Boyd, J. G. Patterson. 

Walter Boyd, J. G. Patterson, Richards. 

A. M Hicks, R. S. Hudson, L. A. Camp- 
bell. 

A. M. Hicks, D. Bunch, Robert Day. 

A. M. Hicks, Garnett Andrews, H. Craytin 

A. M. Harlow, A. G. Norrell, W. J. Wat 
lington. 

James A. Barksdale, A. G. Norrell, W. J 
Watlington, W. L. Dyer. 

H. L.Taylor, A. G. Norrell, W. S. Epper 
son, W. D. Gibbs. 

T. R. Holloman, J. S. Reid, C. H. Perkins^ 
P. Simmons. 

I. M, Kelly, S. S. Hudson, C. H. Perkins 
W. J. Watlington. 



CHAPTER XXXVI. 



SEAT OF GOVERNMENT. 

THE Congress of the United States, on the 20th of Febra- 
ary, 1819, donated two sections of land, either in a 
body, or by fractional sections, as should be preferred by 
legislative action, for a seat of government in the State of 
Mississippi — the land to be located by authority of the 
State vv^herever the Indian title was extinguished, and be- 
fore the commencement of the public sales of the adjoin- 
ing and surrounding lands belonging to the United States. 
In pursuance of this grant, the Legislature on 12th Feb- 
ruary, 1821, appointed Thomas Hinds, James Fatton and 
William Lattimore, commissioners to make the location, 
and directed that it should be within twenty miles of the 
true centre of the State, embracing its whole extent, not 
only the part within its jurisdiction, but also that occu- 
pied by the Indian tribes. On the 28th November following, 
a supplemental act was passed bj^ the Legislature author- 
izing Thomas Hinds, William Lattimore and Peter A. Van- 
dorn to locate the east halves of sections three and ten, 
and the west halves of sections two and eleven in town- 
ship five, range one east of the basis meridian, as a per- 
manent seat of government for the State, and by the same 
act the commissioners were further authorized to lay off a 
town on such part of the located lands as they deemed 
advisable, and when laid out, to be called Jackson, in 
honor of Major-General Andrew Jackson. Inducements 
were held out at that early day to persons of enterprise 
to become citizens of the newly located capital, and with 
that view, the scope of the commissioners was enlarged to 
the extent of granting a right of preference to ten town 
lots to responsible persons, on condition that the occu- 
pants should by the following November " build a neat 



618 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

log or frame house thereon not less than thirty feet in 
length," and at a future time pay the average price of lots, 
etc. The duty was also imposed on the commissioners of 
having a commodious house on an economical plan built 
for the reception of the General Assembly at its next reg- 
ular session. On the 29th June, 1822, the Legislature 
directed that subsequent sessions of the General Assem- 
bly should be held at Jackson, and that all State offices 
should moved there by the following December. The en- 
tire grant of land, except the streets and lots of the town, 
sold from time to time, were subject to disposition by the 
General Assembly ; provided, that Capitol, Court and 
College Greens, should be used for the purpose for which 
they were set apart. It was also provided that the State 
officers should lay off such quantities of ground adjacent 
to the town, or within its limits, as they deemed expedi- 
ent for religious and charitable institutions and a ceme- 
tery. 

The duties imposed on the commissioners were per- 
formed in such manner as to receive the approval of the 
Legislature. On February 26th, 1833, the first appropria- 
tions were made for the erection of a State-house and Ex- 
ecutive Mansion — ninety-five thousand towards the first, 
and ten thousand dollars toward the second building, 
which amounts were to be paid by the sale of town lots, if 
a sufficient sum was realized, and if not, the Governor was 
authorized to draw warrants on a specific fund to supply 
the deficiency. The cost of the buildings when completed 
amounted to several hundred thousand dollars, for the 
payment of which provision was from time to time made 
by the Legislature. 

Jackson has grown to be a handsome little city. Its 
benevolent institutions are the pride of the State and will 
compare favorably with those of any State in the Union 
with like population. 

The Institute for the Deaf and Dumb was founded in 1854, 
and re-established in 1871, the object being to educate all 
deaf mutes of both races, residents of Mississippi. Those 
who are financially able are required to pay a reasonable 
charge for instruction, but those less fortunate are provi- 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 619 

ded for at the expense of the State. This Institution, (for 
the whites), is situated on State street, and its grounds and 
buildings are well located and attractive. The building for 
the colored is eligibly located one and a half miles from 
the State House. Both are under the control of five trus- 
tees, appointed by the Governor, by and with the advice 
and consent of the Senate. 

The Institution for the whit^^s, first located, has from its 
earliest existence not only merited but received the 
warmest sympathies of the people as well as their gen- 
erous and unstinted support. Pupils advance rapidly in 
their studies, and make known their thoughts by signs 
and in writing. As a general thing they write better, spell 
and punctuate more correctly than boys and girls who 
can hear and speak ; this is, perhaps, for the reason that 
all their communications are by signs or writing. 

What is known as articulation instruction, introduced 
during the last few years, has succeeded beyond the most 
sanguine expectations. There are many boys and girls 
who never spoke a word until taught articulation, and who 
now repeat the days of the week, count and occasionally 
put words together forming an entire sentence. 

Prof. J. R. Dobyns has had control of the Institute for 
many years, and his administration has been wise and in- 
telligent; most creditable to himself and the State. He is 
assisted in his labors by thoroughly competent teachers 
in the several departments, all of whom display not only 
energy, but real pleasure in contributing everything in 
their power to the advancement of pupils, not neglecting 
their moral and religious training. 

The Institute for the Blind was established in 1848. In 
October, 1882, it was removed to the new, commodious and 
attractive building on State street, the most elevated lot in 
the city. 

The people of the State have been advised by publica- 
tions, liberally distributed, under the direction of the 
board of trustees, of the generous provision made by the 
State for the education of those deprived of sight, and 
yet a very small proportion of such have availed them- 
selves of the opportunities offered. It is a difficult task 



620 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

to teach the blind — requires great patience — and yet it is 
successfully accomplished at this institution, and many of 
the pupils become most excellent scholars. A generous 
and liberal people are amply rewarded for the outlay 
made in this behalf, by the pleasure it affords the poor un- 
fortunates, who are deprived of seeing the beauties of 
nature. 

For many years the Institution was presided over by 
the late Dr. W. S. Langley, who was the advocate and may 
be considered the founder of charitable and benevolent in- 
stitutions in this State. Dr. Langley's professional attain- 
ments mere of a high order; he was in its broadest sense a 
christian gentleman. He inaugurated a system that in- 
sured progress in learning, and at the same time strict dis- 
cipline. He was succeeded in the superintendency by his 
accomplished daughter, now deceased, and she by Dr. Peter 
Fairly, who stands high in his profession and possesses 
unusual executive ability. His administration promises 
to come fully up to the standard erected by the lamented 
Dr. Langley. 

The teachers employed in the Institute are competent, 
faithful and conscientious 

The State Lunatic Asylum is situated two miles north 
of the Capitol and was established in 1853. Its manage- 
ment and control is confided to five trustees, appointed by 
the Governor, by and with the advice and consent of the 
Senate. The trustees are charged with the duty of direct- 
ing the affairs of the Asylum, and making such regula- 
tions and by-laws as they may deem proper for its success- 
ful government. The Medical Superintendent is appointed 
by the Governor for a term of four years, and is author- 
ized by law to select such subordinate officers and em- 
ployees as are allowed by the board of trustees, and to 
remove any of them at discretion. The Superintendent 
also exercises a general supervision over the buildings, 
farm and other property, as well as all persons connected 
with the Asylum, subject only to the by-laws of the trus- 
tees. 

During the past decade the building has been over- 
crowded with patients. The establishment of the East 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 621 

Mississippi Insane Asylum at Meridian in 1884, relieved 
the demands of the State Asylum for a time, but both are 
now crowded beyond their comfortable capacity, which is 
400 for the State and 236 for the East Mississippi Insane 
Asylum, which was organized under the Superintendency 
of Dr. C. A. Rice, a distinguished physician, now under 
the control of Dr. J. W. Buchanan, a gentleman of superior 
attainments in his profession. The affairs of the former 
Institution have been conducted and administered during 
the past thirteen years with marked success and great 
satisfaction to the people of the State, by Dr. Thomas J. 
Mitchell, a distinguished and gifted physician, who seems 
peculiarly fitted for the delicate and responsible duties to 
which he has been assigned, and to which he has devoted 
so many years of his life. 

The city of Jackson has three Methodist and two Baptist 
churches, one of each of the denominations being for the col- 
ored people; one church each for the Episcopal, Presbyte- 
rian and Christian denominations, one Catholic church and 
one Jewish synagogue. Some of the structures are hand- 
some and commodious, and others will at an early day be 
replaced with more costly and imposing buildings. There 
are three excellent public schools for both races, the build- 
ing for white pupils being eligibly located and imposing. 
The Catholics have a school also desirably located and 
well attended. Three banks supply capital sufficient for 
the demands of trade ; one cotton compress, one cotton 
seed oil mill, two fertilizer factories, three foundries, one 
saw mill, one ice factory, gas and electric lights, a most 
excellent system of water-works, three large, well equipped 
hotels, four active and efficient fire companies, one daily, 
four weekly, one semi-monthly, and two quarterly 
newspapers, four livery stables, one of which is among 
the most costly and best equipped stables in the South. 
The merchants are enterprising and solid, and it may be 
confidently stated that the city is growing and its business 
increasing. From present indications the population will 
double itself in the next few years. New residences and 
business houses are constantly going up, and city prop- 
erty more valuable than ever before in its history. 



622 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

A sketch of the city of Jackson would be incomplete 
without referring to the distinguished jurist, 

JUDGE WILLIAM L. SHARKEY, 

Who was a native of Tennessee, and brought to the Territory 
of Mississippi by his parents in 1803. He was reared in 
Warren county, and received such educational advantages 
as were attainable in the country schools of that day. By 
industry and labor performed on a farm, he accumulated a 
sufficiency of money to attend the Greenville College in 
Tennessee, where he made himself a fair scholar, and ac- 
quired limited classical learning. After his course at 
Greenville, he sought the tuition and training of Mr. John 
Hall, of Sumner county, Tennessee, a distinguished educa- 
tor and lawyer, who, in addition to his recognized accom- 
plishments, was the owner of a valuable law and miscel- 
laneous library, which was open and free to the young 
student. On his return home he entered the law office of 
Messrs. Turner & Metcalf, lawyers of high standing, of 
Natchez. After his examination, and receiving a license to 
practice, he located at Warrenton, then the county site of 
Warren, and remained there until the seat of justice was 
changed to Vicksburg, to which place he removed, and 
was soon afterwards elected to the Legislature, and was 
made Speaker of the House, 

After the adoption of the Constitution of 1832, ten 
years after his admission to the bar, he was elected one of 
the judges of the High Court of Errors and Appeals and 
made its Chief Justice. For this exalted office he was 
elected for four consecutive terms of six years years each, 
notwithstanding the district was largely Democratic and 
he known to be an ardent Whig. 

A distinguishing feature of the estimable character of 
Wm. L. Sharkey as a judge may be properly styled the 
robustness of his mental structure and constitution. His 
mental make up was without any weakness, remarkable 
for strength and manliness in all its manifestations. He 
had strong practical sense, far removed from the specula- 
tive and visionary, and he vigorously seized hold of and 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 628 

grappled the leading and decisive questions of a case with 
the power of a giant. He had breadth of grasp to take in 
everything necessary as he went along, and thoroughness 
of dealing with every question, which left nothing unsaid 
that was necessary for its complete elucidation and the 
vindication of the conclusion. His boldness shrank from 
nothing too difficult to be mastered. His plainness and 
simplicity of style precluded the possibility of misunder- 
standing, and his directness of purpose and argument 
went with the precision oi a well-aimed rifle ball straight 
to the mark, and was sure to do execution. He had learn- 
ing enough to acquaint him with the principles and prece- 
dents of law and equity, but was more remarkable for the 
vigor and cogency of his reasoning than for wealth of learn- 
ing. Honesty he had in common with his fellows, but his 
was the bold and aggressive sort that characterized Peter 
among the Apostles. In him, as in Peter, it was so united 
and mingled with courage and aggressiveness as to give it 
decided prominence. He exhibited these characteristics 
on and off the bench on all occasions. 



39 



CHAPTER XXXVII. 



THE MEIS" WHO SERVED MISSISSIPPI IN THE SENATE OF THE 
UNITED STATES FROM 1817 TO JANUARY, 1861. 

WALTER Lkake was One of the first Senators from 
Mississippi, and served from December, 1817, to 
March, 1821, when he resigned to become a candidate for 
Grovernor. 

Thomas H. Williams was elected the same day that 
Mr. Leake was chosen, and served from December, 1817, to 
March 3, 1821. 

David Holmes was elected to succeed Walter Leake 
and was re-elected, but resigned in the year 1826. Mr. 
Holmes served from December, 1820, to March, 1825. 

Powhatan Ellis was appointed to succeed David 
Holmes, and was subsequently elected for a full term. He 
served by appointment of the Governor from December, 
1825, to March 4, 1826. He served the term for which he 
was elected from March 4, 1827, to March 3, 1832, when he 
resigned. 

John Black was appointed to succeed Powhatan Ellis 
by the Governor. He was elected to succeed himself, and 
served from December, 1832, to March, 1838, when he re- 
signed. 

James F. Trotter was appointed by Governor McNutt 
to serve the unexpired term of Mr. Black. He served from 
December, 1838, to March 3, 1839. 

Thomas B. Reed was elected to the Senate but died 
suddenly in the middle of his term. He served from De- 
cember, 1826, until his death, which occurred in Novem- 
ber, 1829. 

Robert H. Adams was elected to succeed Mr. Reed, but 
he, too, died suddenly in Jaly, 1830. His Senatorial service 
covered only one year. 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 625 

George Poindexter was elected to succeed Mr. Adams 
and served from December, 1830, to March 3, 1835. 

Robert J. Walker was elected to succeed George 
Poindexter, and at the expiration of his term was re-elected 
He served from December, 1835, to March, 1845 

John Henderson was elected in January, 1839, and 
served the full term of six years, terminating March 3 
1845. ' 

Jessk Speight served in the Senate from March 4, 1845 
as the successor of John Henderson, until May 3 ' 184?' 
when he died suddenly at Columbus, in Lowndes county' 

Jefferson Davis was appointed by Governor Brown to 
succeed Jesse Speight, and took his seat in that body in 
December, 1847. He continued to serve the State as a Sen- 
ator until the autumn of 1851, when he resigned. He was 
re-elected in 1857, and served until January 12 1861 
when, with his colleagues in both houses, he withdrew for- 
ever from the Senate of the United States. 

Joseph W. Chalmers was appointed by the Governor 
to fill the place of Robert J. Walker, resigned, and the 
Legislature subsequently elected him to serve for the un- 
expired term of Mr. Walker. Mr. Chalmers served from 
March, 1845, to March 3, 1847. 

Henry S. Foote was elected in January, 1847, took his 
seat in December of the same year, and served until Jan- 
uary, 1852. 

John J. McRae was appointed by the Governor to suc- 
ceed Jefferson Davis in the Senate when that gentleman 
resigned his seat in 1851, and served from December 1851 
until March 17, 1852. ' ' 

Stephen Adams was elected to succeed the term of Jef- 
ferson Davis as a Senator and served from March 1852 to 
March 3, 1857. ' 

Walker Brooke was elected to succeed Henry S Foote 
and served from March 11, 1852, to March 3, 1853 

.A'^^^''^ ^- "^''^'^^ "^""^ ^^^^^^^ ^o ^^i« Senate in January 
1853, and took his seat in that body March 4th of the same 
year. He served until March 3, 1859, having previously 
been re-elected for another term of six years. He con- 
tinued to serve as a Senator until January 12, 1861 when 



626 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

he, in company with his colleagues of both branches of 
Congress, retired from the Capitol of the United States. 

The following are the persons elected as Senators from 
Mississippi during the period of reconstruction : 

Adelbert Ames took his seat in the Senate April 11, 

1870, where he served until January, 1874. 

HiKAM R. Revels, a colored man, was elected to the 
Senate, where he served from February, 1870, until March 
3, 1871. «^ 

James L. Alcorn was elected to the Senate in January, 

1871, and took his seat in that body in December of that 
year, and continued to serve as Senator until March 3, 1877, 

Henry R. Pease was elected as the successor of Adel- 
bert Ames, and served from February, 1874, to March 3,. 
1875. 

Blanche K. Bruce was the second colored Senator from 
Mississippi, and he served from March, 1875, until March 
3, 1881. 

The following have been elected as Senators since the 
great revolution in 1875: 

Lucius Q. C. Lamar was elected to the Senate in 1876, 
and took his seat March 4, 1877. He was re-elected in 
January, 1883, and continued a member of the Senate until 
March, 1885. 

James Z. George was elected to the Senate and took his 
seat in that body March 4, 1881. He was re-elected for 
another six years, and his term of service will expire 
March 3, 1893. 

Edward C. Walthall was appointed by Governor 
Lowry to succeed L. Q. C. Lamar. The Legislature ratified 
the appointment of the Governor by electing General 
Walthall to till out the unexpired term of Senator Lamar, 
The Legislature re elected him in January, 1888, for the 
full term of six years, which will terminate March 3, 1895. 



THE MEN WHO SERVED THE STATE IN THE NATIONAL 

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FROM THE YEAR 

1817 TO JANUARY, 1861. 

George Poindexter was the first Representative from 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 627 

the State of Mississippi, and served in the 15th Congress 
from December, 1817, to March 3, 1819. 

Christopher Rankin succeeded Mr. Poindexter, and 
served in the 16th, 17th, 38th and a part of the 19th Con- 
gress. He died in May, 1826, having served from Decem- 
ber, 1819, to May, 1826. He died in Washington during 
the session of Congress. 

William Haile was elected to succeed Mr. Rankin. 
He was reelected to the 2Uth Congress, but resigned at 
the close of the long session of 1828. 

Gkneral Thomas Hinds was elected to succeed Mr. 
Haile, and served through the remainder of the 20th and 
the entire 21st Congress, having served from December, 
1828, to March 3, 1831. 

Franklin E. Plummer was elected to the 22d and re- 
elected to the 23d Congress, serving from December, 1831, 
until March 3, 1835. 

Harry Cage was elected to the 23d Congress, and 
served from December, 1833, until March 3, 1835. 

Dr. David Dickson was elected to the 24th Congress, 
but served only one session, and died at Little Rock, Ark., 
July 31, 1836. 

John F. H. Claiborne was elected to the 24th Congress 
as the colleague of Dr. Dickson, and served through that 
entire Congress from December, 1835, until March 3, 1837. 
Mr. Claiborne was elected in 1837, and obtained a certifi- 
cate of election to the 25th Congress, but upon a contest 
made by Messrs. Prentiss and Word againt Messrs. Clai- 
borne and Gholson. the House remanded them to the peo- 
ple. Mr. Claiborne occupied his seat until the decision of 
the House was reached, January 31, 1838. 

Samuel J. Gholson was elected to till the unexpired 
term of Dr. Dickson in the 24th Congress. With his col- 
league, Mr. Claiborne, he was returned to the 25th Con- 
gress, but when a contest was made by Messrs. Prentiss 
and Word, the House, by the casting vote of Speaker 
Polk, decided that neither were entitled to be seated. The 
service of Mr. Gholson embraced the time from December, 
1836, to January 31, 1838. 

Sargent S. Prentiss was elected to the 25th Congress 



628 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

in November, 1837, but the certificate of election was held 
by John F. H. Claiborne. Mr. Prentiss contested his right 
to a seat, but the House decided that neither was entitled 
to be seated. Mr. Prentiss appealed to the people and 
was triumphantly elected, as was his colleague, Thomas J. 
Word. The Congressional service of Mr. Prentiss was 
from December, 1838, to March 3, 1839. 

Thomas J. Word was the colleague of Mr. Prentiss in 
the contest before the House, and shared his fortune. Mr. 
Word was re-elected with Mr. Prentiss and served in the 
25th Congress from December, 1838, to March 3, 1839. 

Albert (t. Brown was elected in November, 1839, to 
the 26th Congress, and served from December, 1839, to 
March 3, 1841. He declined a re-election, but was subse- 
quently elected to the 30th Congress, and reelected to the 
3l8t and to the 32d Congresses. His entire service in the 
House of Representatives covered eight years, but his 
latest service in the House was from January, 1848, to 
March 3, 1853. 

Jacob Thompson was elected in November, 1839, to the 
26th Congress as the colleague of Albert Gr. Brown. He 
was re-elected to the 27th, 28th, 29th, 30th and 31st Con- 
gress. His service extended from December, 1839, to March 
3, 1851. 

William M. Gwin was elected to the 27th Congress as 
the successor of Albert G. Brown, in November, 1841, and 
served from December of that year until March 3, 1843. 
Dr. Gwin declined a re-election. 

William H. Hammet was elected in November, 1843, 
to the 28th Congress, and served from December of that 
year until March 3, 1845. 

Robert W. Roberts was elected in November, 1843, 
to the 28th Congress, and in 1845 was re-elected to the 
29th Congress, and served from December, 1843, to March 
3, 1847. 

Tighlman M. Tucker was elected in November, 1843, 
while serving as Governor of the State, to the 28th Con- 
gress, and served from January, 1844, to March 3, 1845. 

Jefferson Davis was elected in November, 1845, to the 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 629 

29th Congress, and served until May, 1846, when he re- 
signed his seat to take command of the first regiment of 
Mississippi Volunteers for duty in Mexico 

Henry T. Ellett was elected in November, 1846, to 
succeed Col. Davis, and served from December, 1846, to 
March 3, 1847. Mr. Ellett declined a re-election. 

Patrick W. Tompkins was elected in November, 1847, 
to the 30th Congress, and served from December of that 
year until March 3, 1849. Mr. Tompkins declined a re- 
election. 

William McWillie was elected in November, 1849, 
to the 31st Congress, and served from December, 1849, un- 
til March 3, 1851. 

WiNFiF)LD S. Featherston was elected in November, 
1847, to the 30th Congress, and he was re-elected to the 
31st Congress. He served from December, 1847, to March 
3, 1851. 

John D. Frkeman was elected in November, 1851, to 
the 82d Congress, and served from December, 1851, to 
March 3, 1853. 

Benjamin D. Nabors was elected in November, 1851, 
to the 32d Congress, and served from December, 1851, un- 
til March 3, 1853. 

Daniel B. Wright was elected in November, 1853, to 
the 33d, and was re-elected to the 34th Congress. He 
served from December, 1853, until March 3, 1857. 

William S. Barry was elected in November, 1853, to 
the 33d Congress, and served from December of that year 
until March 3, 1855. Mr. Barry declined a re-election. 

Wiley P. Harris was elected in November, 1853, to the 
33d Congress, and served from December, 1853, until 
March 3, 1855. Mr. Harris declined a re-election. 

William A. Lake was elected in November, 1855, to 
the 34th Congress, and served from December of that year 
until March 8, 1857. 

Otho R. Singleton was elected in November, 1853, to 
the 33d Congress, and was a candidate for the 34th Con- 
gress in 1855, but was defeated by William A. Lake. In 
November, 1857, Mr. Singleton was elected to the 35th 
Congress, defeating his successful competitor at the pre- 



630 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

vious election. He was re-elected to the 36th Congress in 
November, 1859, and served from December of that year 
until the secession of Mississippi, when in company with 
all of his colleagues, he withdrew from the House of Rep- 
resentatives on January 12, 1861, having served in the 
House nearly six years. 

Henley S. Bennett was elected in November, 1855, to 
the 34th Congress, where he served from December of that 
year until March 3, 1857. 

Reuben Davis was elected in November, 1857, to the 
35th Congress ; in November, 1859, he was re-elected to the 
36th Congress, where he served until January 12, 1861, 
when he retired with his colleagues upon the secession of 
Mississippi. The congressional service of Reuben Davis 
comprised nearly four years, commencing in December, 
1857, and terminating in January, 1861. 

John A. Quitman, after being Governor of the State, was 
elected in November, 1S55, to the 34th, and two years 
later was re-elected to the 35th Congress. His service ex- 
tended from December, 1855, to July 17, 1858, when he 
died at his home near Natchez. 

Lucius Q. C. Lamar was elected in November, 1857, to 
the 35th, and in November, 1859, was re elected to the 36th 
Congress. The service of Mr. Lamar extended from 
December, 18.57, to December 20, 1860, when he resigned 
his seat in Congress to become a candidate for the Seces- 
sion Convention from Lafayette county. 

John J. MoRae was elected to succeed John A. Quitman 
in the 35th, and was re-elected to the 36th Congress, and 
served from December, 1858, until January 12, 1861, when 
he retired with his colleagues from the capitol. 

DURING THE PERIOD OF RECONSTRUCTION. 

The State of Mississippi, during the period of reconstruc- 
tion, was represented in the House of Representatives by 
the following persons : 

George C. McKek served from February, 1870, to March 
3, 1875, in the 41st, 42d and 43d Congresses. 

Jason Niles, an old citizen and reputable lawyer in 
Kosciusko, esteemed through life as an honorable and up- 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 631 

right citizen, served in the 43d Congress, from December, 
1871, until March 3, 1873. 

L. W. Perce served from December 1870, to March 3 
1873, in the 41st and 42d Congresses. 

George E. Harris served in the 41st and 42d Congresses, 
and his service covered the period from December, 1870, to 
March 3, 1873. 

Albebt R. Howe served in the 42d and 43d Congresses, 
and his service extended from December 1871, to March 
3, 1875. 

Henry W. Barry served in the 41st. 42d and 43d Con- 
gresses, from December, 1870, to March 3, 1875. 

John R. Lynch, (col.), served in the House of Represen- 
tatives during the 43d and 44th Congresses, his service ex- 
tending from December, 1871, until March, 1875. 

Joseph L. Morphis served in the House during 41st and 
42d Congresses, and his service extended from December, 
1871, to March 3, 1875. 

It will be observed that nothing has been said about 
these men being elected, for elections in the period of re- 
construction were of the most farcical character. 

It is also worthy of remark that of all the men who as- 
sumed to represent Mississippi in the National House of 
Representatives, only Mr. Niles, General George C. McKee 
and Joseph L. Morphis, remained in the State. The balance, 
their vocation being gone, abandoned the State incon- 
tinently, in pursuit of other flesh-pots. General McKee, 
having invested his means here, like the manly fellow he 
was, determined to stick by the State. He made many 
friends and died in the year 1890, after a long struggle with 
disease, sincerely lamented by the general public, political 
friends and foes alike. 

AFTER the revolution IN 1875. 

Hernando D. Money was elected in November, 1875, 
to the 44tli Congress, and was re-elected to the 45th, 46th, 
47th and 48th Congresses. The service of Mr. Money ex- 
tended from December, 1875, to March 3, 1885. 

Charles E. Hooker was elected in November, 1875, to 



632 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

the 44tli Congress, and was snccessively re elected to the 
45th, 46th and 47th Congresses. His service extending 
from December, 1875, to March 3, 1883. 

G. Wiley Wells was elected in November, 1875, to the 
44th Congress. His service extending from December, 
1875, to March 3, 1877. 

John R. Lynch, (col.), was elected in November, 1875, 
to the 44th Congress, and served from April 29th, 1882, to 
March 3, 1883, in the 47th Congress. 

Otho R. Singleton was elected in November, 1875, to 
the 44th Congress and was re-elected to the 45th, 46th, 
47th, 48th and 49th Congresses. His service extending 
from December 1875, to March 3, 1887. 

Van H. Manning was elected in November, 1877, to the 
45th Congress, and was re-elected to the 46th, 47th and 
48th Congresses, when he was unseated in a contest made 
by James R. Chalmers. His service extended from Decem- 
ber, 1877, to June 25th, 1884. 

Henry L, Muldrow was elected in November, 1877, to 
the 45th Congress, and was re-elected to the 46th, 47th 
and 48th Congresses. His service extended from Decem- 
ber, 1877, to March 3, 1885. 

James R. Chalmers was elected in November, 1877, to 
the 45th Congress, and was re-elected to the 46th and 47th 
Congresses, but was unseated in that Congress on a contest 
by John R. Lynch. He represented the second district in 
the 48th Congress, unseating Van H. Manning. 

Lucius Q. C. Lamar was elected in November, 1873, to 
the 43d and was re-elected to the 44th Congress. His ser- 
vice extended from December, 1873, to March 4th, 1877, 
when he took his seat in the Senate. 

Ethelbert Barksdale was elected in November, 1882, 
to the 48th and was re-elected to the 49th Congress. His 
service extending from December, 1883, to March 3, 1887. 

Henry S. VanEaton was elected in November, 1882, to 
the 48ih and was re-elected to the 49th Congress. His 
service extending from December, 1883, to March 3, 1887. 

Elza Jeffords was elected in November, 1882, to the 
48th Congress. His service extended from December, 1883, 
to March 3, 1885. 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 633 

Thomas C. Catchings was elected in November, 1884, 
to the 49th Congress and was re elected to the 50th and 
51st Congresses. He was last year re-elected to the 52d 
Congress. His service, at the end of Ws term, will extend 
from December, 1885, to March 3, 1893. 

James B. Morgan was elected in November, 1884, to the 
49th, and was re-elected to the 50th and 51st Congresses. 
His service extended from December, 1885, to March 8, 1891. 

John M. Allen was elected in November, 1884, to the 
49th, and was re-elected to the 50th, 51st and 52d Con- 
gresses. His service will extend from December, 1885, to 
March 3, 1893. 

Frederick G. Barry was elected in November, 1884, 
to the 49th, and was re-elected to the 50th Congress. His 
service extended from December, 1885, to March 3, 1889. 

Chapman L. Anderson was elected in November, 1886, 
to the 50th, and was re-elected to the 51st Congress, His 
service extended from December, 1887, to March 3, 1891. 

Thomas R. Stockdale was elected in November, 1886, 
to the 50th, and was reelected to the 51st and 52d Con- 
gresses, his service commenced in December, 1887, and 
will terminate March 3, 1893. 

Clarke Lewis was elected in November, 1888, to the 
51st Congress and he has been reelected to the 52d Con- 
gress. His service commenced in December, 1889, and 
will expire March 3, 1893. 

Three Senators, Thos. B. Reed, Robert H. Adams and 
Jesse Speight, died during the term for which they were 
elected. Three Representatives, Christopher Rankin, Dr. 
David Dickson and General John A. Quitman, also died 
during their terms of service. 

When it is remembered that many years ago members of 
Congress could only reach the National Capital by riding 
the entire distance on horseback, the reason may be found 
for frequent changes and resignations. 



CHAPTER XXXVIII. 



THE JUDICIARY OF MISSISSIPPI. 



THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE. 

IT may be confidently stated that Mississippi, since its 
organization as a State government, and even during the 
Territorial era, has had, except during the Radical regime, 
an exceptionally able Supreme Court. The volume of 
Walker's Reports, the first published, contain the decisions 
of the Supreme Court from 1817 to the adoption of the 
second Constitution in 1832. The Judges of the Court 
when Walker's Reports were published, were E. Turner, 
Chief Justice, Isaac R. Nicholson and Harry Cage, and it 
contained opinions delivered, in addition to the Justices 
named by Judges Powhatan Ellis, John Taylor, J. G. 
Clarke, Joshua Childs, Judge Hampton, John Black, George 
Winchester, A. Montgomery and Eli Huston. 

The High Court of Errors and Appeals, established by 
the Constitution of 1832, was organized with William L, 
Sharkey, Chief Justice, C. P. Smith and D. W. Wright, 
Associate Justices. The first volume of Howard's Reports 
was published in 1839, but contained opinions delivered 
during the five previous years. Judge Smith was succeeded 
in 1838 by P. Rutillius R. Pray, and Judge Wright by James 
F. Trotter. C. P. Smith received the executive appoint- 
ment to fill the vacancy occasioned by the death of Judge 
Pray, and was succeeded by E. Turner, who was elected at 
the first general election held after the executive appoint- 
ment. Judge Trotter resigned in 1842, when Alexander M. 
Clayton became his successor. J. S. B. Thatcher was the 
successor of Judge Turner in 1843, and he was succeeded 
by C. P. Smith. In 1851, W. L. Sharkey, LL. D., (the de- 
gree having been conferred by Transylvania University) 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 635 

resigned and was succeeded by William Yerger. E S 
Fisher was the successor of A. M. Clayton, and he was suc- 
ceeded by Wm. L. Harris. On the resignation of Judge 
Sharkey, C. P. Smith became Chief Justice and so re- 
mained until his death. William Yerger was succeeded 
by A. H. Handy, who became Chief Justice. David W 
Hurst was elected in 1863, to fill the vacancy occasioned 
by the death of Judge Smith. Henry T. Ellett succeeded 
Judge Hurst. Judges Handy, Harris and Ellett resigned 
m 1867, being disqualified under the reconstruction laws, 
and were succeeded by Thomas Shackelford, E. G. Peyton 
and George F. Brown, who were military appointees. They 
were continued on the bench until James L. Alcorn became 
Governor, who on the 10th of May, 1870, appointed as 
Judges of the Supreme Court, (the change of name, from 
the High Court of Errors and Appeals having been made 
by the Constitution adopted in 1869,) H. F. Simrall, Jona- 
than Tarbell, and re-appointed E. G. Peyton, who became 
Chief Justice drew the three years term, Tarbell the six 
years and Judge Simrall the nine years term. Judge Pey- 
ton was his own successor. In 1876, when the Democracy 
came in power, Governor Stone appointed Judge J. A. P. 
Campbell, who was re-appointed by Governor Lowry and 
now presiding as Chief Justice, Judge Peyton was retired 
and by special statute on half pay, and H. H. Chalmers 
appointed by Governor Stone to fill the vacancy and re-ap- 
pointed by Governor Lowry. Judge Simrall was succeed- 
ed by James Z. George, who became Chief Justice. Judge 
George was elected to the United States Senate in 1881 
when Governor Stone appointed Timothy E. Cooper to fill 
the vacancy, who was re-appointed by Governor Lowry, and 
who has also presided as Chief Justice. James M. Arnold 
was appointed to fill the vacancy occasioned by the death 
of Judge H. H. Chalmers, who presided as Chief Justice. 
Judge Arnold resigned, and at the date of his resignation 
was Chief Justice. Governor Lowry appointed as his suc- 
cessor, Thomas H. Woods, who was re-appointed by Gov- 
ernor Stone. Judge Woods was Chief Justice until his 
re-appointment. 

It is proper to say in explanation of the many changes 



686 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

of the presiding Judge or Chief Justice of the Court, that 
the Judge whose term of office expires first, presides as 
Chief Justice. This was made the law by the Revised Code 
of 1880. 

Referring to the Judiciary, it is a noteworthy fact, 
that the three Judges of the United States Court for 
the Distiict of Mississippi, cover over a half century. 
Judge George Adams, Judge Samuel J. Gholson and Judge 
Robert A. Hill, the present incumbent, who has presided 
continuously for twenty-five years. The two former were 
jurists of ability and high character, widely known and 
thoroughly acceptable during their long service. It may 
be said of Judge Hill that he went on the bench in a 
most critical era. A Republican in politics and appointed 
by a Republican President, he had to deal with new and 
novel questions, such as necessarily presented themselves 
during the military and reconstruction periods, and it may 
be confidently stated to the credit of this venerable Judge, 
that he has preserved his integrity and that his judicial 
career has been conservative, and at the expiration of a 
quarter of a century he numbers among his friends all the 
bar of the State who have long practiced before him, and 
to whom he has always extended the greatest courtesy. 



CHAPTER XXXIX. 



THE GREAT WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 

IT was not contemplated in the preparation of this 
volume, to enter into a discussion of the civil war, or to 
attempt anything like an extended account of the part 
borne in that great struggle by Mississippians, nor to enter 
into a discussion of the causes that led to the most gigan- 
tic war of modern times. The differences, whether of 
great or little moment, had the effect, not only of wreck- 
ing thousands of happy households, but for a time after 
the cessation of hostilities, of striking down what our an- 
cestors esteemed constitutional liberty. A quarter of a 
century has passed since arms were stacked, tencs folded, 
and brave men returhed to peaceful pursuits. The people 
of the Southern States were subjected by the victors to a 
species of tyranny and oppression, that to-day can scarcely 
be realized, even by those sought to be humiliated. 

Lofty patriotism is an inheritance of American manhood, 
and in antagonism with every character of tyranny. The 
causes and results of the civil war have been so distorted 
by many who assume to give its origin and write its his- 
tory, that it would be well if the mantle of charity could 
for the time be drawn over the wrongs of either side, in- 
dulging the hope that time, which is a great corrective of 
wrongs and mistakes, will bring forth some scholarly, un- 
predjudiced, fair-minded man who will gather up the 
material and give a true account of the greatest struggle 
in the world's history. Whatever has been written, and 
now alleged to the contrary, fidelity to the constitution of 
the fathers has been the test of loyalty with Southern men, 
and for this, as understood by them, they followed the 
stars and bars for four long and eventful years, against 
overwhelming odds, to see it at last buried in a military 
defeat. 



638 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

During this manly strife, near eighty thousand Mississip- 
pians, of all arms, serving in the Virginia and western 
armies, stood on the front line of fire, bore their part on 
every field of strife, from Pennsylvania to the coast of 
Florida. Wherever battles were fought, there the bones 
of Mississippians are bleaching to-day. They participated 
in the battles of Corinth, Port Gibson, Baker's Creek, 
Raymond, Jackson, the memorable seige of Vicksburg, 
and others fought on their own soil, as well as those in 
Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, the Carolinas, Georgia, 
Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Arkansas, Texas and Penn- 
sylvania. They laid down their lives for their interpreta- 
tion of the right. It will be the duty and pleasure in the 
future of some one of her sons to give in detail the renown 
won and the part borne by Mississippi troops in that 
memorable struggle, and that task, well performed, will 
satisfy posterity that Southern soldiers fought, as they 
understood, for that independence transmitted to them by 
their ancestors. Instead of a separate nationality, as was 
intended by Confederate contention, based upon the 
great principle that the people have a right to choose 
their own form of government, and to be sustained in that 
choice by the fundamental law of the land, we have a 
united country, the executive administration of which is 
confided to one section. The American flag floats from 
ocean to ocean, and it is supposed that every freeman is 
not only protected by its broad folds, but that each, how- 
ever humble, may aspire to the most exalted preferment 
within American reach ; this, however, seems a violent sup- 
position for the bodies of representative men who assem- 
ble to choose a Chief Magistrate and his associates for 
sixty millions of people, as completely ignore in that 
choice statesmen of twelve sovereign States of the Ameri- 
can Union, as if they were Provinces of Great Britian. 
This is both unnatural and unjust, a blot upon advanced 
civilization, and serves as a vehicle of oppression that is 
in conflict with every principle of constitutional liberty. 
Whether or not the corrective will be applied in the near 
future to this and other features of government which ap- 
pear to be maintained as tests of loyalty, cannot now be 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 639 

determined, but there is no earthly power that can prevent 
the civilized world from rendering one verdict, that South- 
ern soldiers exhibited a prowess, manly courage and valor 
seldom surpassed in the world's history. 

Among these struggling heroes were the many thousand 
Mississippians, and of the renown won they cannot be 
robbed, and the pleasant task of a capable and unpreju- 
diced historian of grouping together their soldierly con- 
duct and battles in which they were engaged, will consti- 
tute a volume that will be appreciated in every household 
in the commonwealth. 

In regiments and brigades they formed a part of the 
command of every great captain that commanded Confed- 
erate armies during the protracted struggle— always full 
of courage, and lighting as they believed for the firm es- 
tablishment; of the past glories of a common country • for 
great principles, which like Milton's angels, "are immortal 
and can never die." 



41 



CHAPTER XL. 



JEFFERSON DAVIS. 

IN considering the character of Jefferson Davis, we are 
to view him as one of the most illustrious statesmen 
of the age in which he lived, and undeniably the most illus- 
trious and best beloved citizen the State of Mississippi ever 
possessed. 

Though born in Christian county, Kentucky, on the 3d 
day of June, 1808, he was brought to Mississippi while a 
tender infant, and was nurtured on the soil of the State he 
loved with the most devoted affection. The son of a Revolu- 
tionary soldier, and the nephew of two uncles who were 
also soldiers in the great struggle for independence, it is 
not strange that the boy, Jefferson Davis, should have 
been fired with a military spirit and a desire to be a sol- 
dier himself. 

Up to eight years of age he was in charge of his elder 
and devoted brother, Joseph E. Davis, who at that time re- 
sided near Greenville, in Jefferson county, and had an 
ofl&ce in the village, where he was engaged in the practice 
of law before the courts of Jefferson and the adjoining 
counties. ^ 

At the age of eight years his bother determined to send 
him to school in Kentucky, where he could enjoy better 
educational advantages. He was was placed in charge of 
General Thomas Hinds, who was visiting Kentucky, and 
his son, Howell, about the same age as young Jefferson 
Davis, each rode from Greenville, in Jefferson county, to 
Bardstown, Kentucky, on horseback, a journey which few 
boys of tlieir tender age would care to undertake to day. 
After remaining at school at Bardstown some two years, 
he was transferred to the Transylvania University at Lex- 
ington. Here he was making rapid progress with his 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 641 

Studies, when the whole current of his life was changed 
by his appointment as a cadet at the Military Academy at 
West Point. After four years of study at West Point 
he was graduated in June, 1828, and entered the array of 
the United States as a brevet second lieutenant. 

The next seven years of his life were spent on our west- 
ern frontier. He was actively engaged in the Black Hawk 
war, and was exposed to much hard and arduous service. 
In 1835 he resigned his position in the army, and was mar- 
ried to the daughter of Col. Zachary Taylor. His wife, 
however, only lived a few months. 

For the next eight years Jefferson Davis was a student 
and a recluse. It is extremely doubtful if during these 
eight years three dozen people in Warren county made 
his acquaintance, or even knew him by sight. His brother, 
Joseph E., had a fine library, books devoted to science, to 
natural history, to the science of government, and all 
subjects. These he studied with care through all these 
years of seclusion, and when he finally cast off the 
garb of the recluse and the student, preparatory for a life 
of action, he leaped into the arena "like Pallas from the 
brain of Jove, full-armed." 

His first entrance into political life was as a candidate 
for the State Senate in Warren county in 1843. Warren 
was then a Whig county by a decided majority, and party 
lines were stringently drawn in that period. His next po- 
litical appearance was in 1844, as a candidate on the Dem- 
ocratic ticket for Presidential elector. He made so much 
character by his canvass, and so impressed the people 
with his ability, that the next year he was nominated and 
elected to the national House of Representatives. He 
took his seat in December, 1845, but resigned to accept the 
command of the first regiment of Mississippi volunteers 
raised for service in Mexico. The performance of Col. 
Davis and his regiment will be found related elsewhere. 

When Col. Davis and his regiment returned home with 
their brows bound with the chaplets of victory. Governor 
Albert G. Brown tendered him the appointment of United 
States Senator, to supply the vacancy occasioned by the 
death of the late Senator, Mr. Jesse Speight. Col. Davis 



642 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

took his seat for the first time in the Senate in December, 

1847, and wjien the Legislature assembled in January, 

1848, the appointment by Governor Brown was ratified by 
the unanimous vote of the Legislature. He was re-elected 
as Senator in 1850, for the term commencing March 4, 1851, 
but in the autumn of the latter year resigned his seat in 
the Senate to become a candidate for Governor. 

In March, 1853, Col. Davis became a member of the cab- 
inet of President Pierce as Secretary of War. That he 
made a splendid war minister goes without saying, and 
the present writer remembers to have heard General Geo. 
W. McCrary, Secretary, of War under President Hayes, 
pronounce "Jefferson Davis, the ablest Secretary the War 
Department has ever had." 

Jefferson Davis was returned to the Senate in 1857 for 
the full term of six years, and took his seat in that body 
in December of that year. 

The country knows that during the years that Jeffer- 
son Davis held a seat in the Senate of the United States, 
he was the peer of the ablest and proudest Senator on 
that floor. He was ranked with the great triumvirate. 
Clay, Calhoun and Webster, and bore himself as the peo- 
ple of Misssissippi would ever desire their representative 
to bear himself in the most exalted legislative tribunal 
in the world — absolutely without stain or reproach. 

When Misssissippi determined to sever her relations 
with the Union, Mr. Davis, recognizing that his first alle- 
giance was due to the State whose representative he was 
in the Senate, and whose sons he had led to battle and to 
victory, at once determined to retire from the Senate of 
the United States. He announced that determination in a 
speech of marked ability, candor and frankness, which 
will be found elsewhere in this volume. 

It can scarcely be necessary to relate how he became 
Provisional President of the Confederate States of Amer- 
ica, or how the choice made by the Confederate Congress 
at Montgomery, Alabama, was unanimously ratified by 
the people of all the States of the Confederacy at an elec- 
tion in November in 1861. How Jefferson Davis bore him- 
self under the heavy burden of his multifarious responsi- 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 643 

bilities as President of the Confederate States of America 
it boots not now to tell. His waking hours were devoted 
to labor for the cause to which his life was consecrated, 
and many of his hours of repose were given to invoca- 
tions to the Most High for blessings upon that cause. 

Jefferson Davis, as chief of the Confederate States of 
America, waged a gigantic war with one of the most pow- 
erful governments known to our times, for four weary years. 
He saw in those years the muster rolls of the United States 
bear the names of three millions of men; while the muster- 
rolls of the Confederate army bore scant 600,000 names. 
Though often victorious on many fields against frightful 
odds, the end came on the 9th day of April, 1865. The 
surrender of General Lee was followed by that of other 
commanders in the field, and the government of the Con- 
federate States became a memory. Jefferson Davis was 
captured, hurried to Fortress Monroe, and there manacled 
like a common, vulgar ruffian. 

This act of placing Jefferson Davis in irons was pre- 
ceded by one almost as atrocious. President Johnson of- 
fered a reward of $100,000 for the capture of Mr. Davis as 
one engaged in the conspiracy to assassinate President 
Lincoln. Both will remain eternal stigmas upon the 
escutcheon of the United States. 

Mr. Davis remained in prison for nearly two years, when 
he was liberated on bail, his chief bondsmen being Horace 
Greeley and Gerritt Smith, of New York. His trial came 
to naught, and was finally abandoned, and neither the 
charge of treason, or conspiring to murder Mr. Lincoln, 
was ever attempted to be sustained. 

Meantime, Jefferson Davis went quietly about his busi- 
ness, attending to his planting affairs, reading his favorite 
authors, enjoying the society of his friends, conscious that 
he possessed the respect and the confidence of every brave 
man and virtuous woman in the entire South. 

In the first days of December, 1889, the people of the 
South were saddened by the intelligence that Jefferson 
Davis was critically ill in the city of New Orleans. They 
watched the dispatches in the morning and evening jour- 
nals with the deepest and most painful interest, until the 



644 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

end came at 12:45 in the morning of the 6th of December, 
1889, and then every house in the South was covered with 
the pall of sorrow. Brave men, gentle women, and tender 
children found their eyes suffused with tears " as when a 
loved one dies." The death of Jefferson Davis was worthy 
of one of his high, heroic character. He passed away as 
peacefully as an infant falls to sleep in its mother's arms. 
The shock to the country and to his friends was none the 
less, however. Men heard the news as it passed from 
mouth to mouth in silent sorrow. The passing away of a 
great soul stirred too many memories of heroic deeds to lind 
utterance in spoken words. There was a keen pang of sor- 
row in the heart of the great South, from the Potomac to 
the Rio Grande, from the Ohio to the Gulf of Mexico, and 
from the Atlantic ocean to beyond the Mississippi river. 

Men of all parties were willing at last to do tardy jus- 
tice to a great patriot and much wronged gentleman. His 
remains laid in state for three days, and in those seventy- 
two hours it was estimated that nearly one hundred thou- 
sand persons passed the bier to take a last look at those 
beloved features. 

It had been arranged that the burial of Jefferson Davis 
should occur on the 11th of December, and that the funeral 
should be a strictly military one; and no such outpour- 
ing of affection and respect has ever been witnessed in 
New Orleans, or possibly ever will be witnessed again. 

The Episcopal Bishops of Mississippi and Louisiana, 
Right Reverend Hugh Miller Thompson, of the first named 
State, and Right Reverend John N. Gallaher, Bishop of 
Louisiana, were officiating. at the funeral, assisted by Rev. 
Thomas R. Markham, D. D., a native of Mississippi, in 
charge of a Presbyterian church in New Orleans, and a 
number of other clerical gentlemen. 

At the close of the services at the City Hall Bishop 
Gallaher uttered the following eloquent and appropriate 
tribute : 

" When we utter our prayers to-day for those who are 
distressed in mind ; when we lift our petitions to the Most 
Merciful, and ask a benediction on the desolate, we re- 
member that one household above others is bitterly 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 645 

bereaved, and that hearts closely knitted to our own are 
deeply distressed. For the master of Beauvoir lies dead 
under the drooping flag of the saddened city ; the light of 
his dwelling has gone out and left it lonely for all the days 
to come. Surely we grieve with those who weep the ten- 
der tears of homely pain and trouble, and there is not a 
sigh of the Gulf breeze that sways the swinging moss on 
the cypress trees sheltering their home butflndsan answer 
in our over-burdened breathing. We recall with sincerest 
sympathy the wifely woe that can be measured only by 
the sacred deeps of wifely devotion ; and our hearts go 
traveling across the heaving Atlantic seas to meet and 
comfort, if we might the child, who coming home, shall for 
once not be able to bring all the sweet splendors of the 
sunshine with her. Let us bend with the stricken house- 
hold and pay the ready tribute of our tears ; and then, ac- 
knowledging the stress and surge of a people's sorrow, and 
say that the stately tree of our Southern wood, planted in 
power, nourished by kindly dews, branching in brave 
luxuriance and scarred by many storms lies uprooted ! 
The end of a long and lofty life has come ; and a moving 
volume of human history has been closed and clasped. The 
strange and sudden dignity of death has been added to 
the fine and resolute dignity of living. A man who in his 
person and history symbolized the solemn convictions and 
tragic fortunes of millions of men cannot pass into the 
glooms that gather around a grave without sign or token 
from the surcharged bosoms of those he leaves behind ; 
and when Jefferson Davis, reaching 'the very sea-mark of 
his utmost sail,' goes to his God, not even the most igno- 
ble can chide the majestic mourning, the sorrowing honors 
of a last salute. I am not here, to stir, by a breath, the 
embers of a settled strife ; to speak one word unworthy of 
him and of the hour. What is writ is writ in the world's 
memory and in the books of God. But I am here to say 
for our help and inspiration that this man as a Christian 
and as a churchman was a lover of all high and righteous 
things ; as a citizen, was fashioned in the old, faithful 
type ; as a soldier, was marked and fitted for more than 
fame, the Lord God having set on him the seal of a pure 



646 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

knighthood ; as a statesman, he was the peer of the princes 
in that realm ; and as a patriot, through every day of his 
illustrious life, was an incorruptible and impassioned de- 
fender of the liberties of men. Gracious and gentle, even 
to the lowliest — nay, especially to them — tender as he 
was brave, he deserved to win all the love that followed. 
Fearless and unselfish, he could not well escape the life- 
long conflicts to which he was committed. Greatly and 
strangely, misconceived, he bore injustice with the calm- 
ness befitting his place. He suffered many and grievous 
wrongs, suffered most for the sake of others, and those 
others will remember him and his unflinching fidelity with 
deepening gratitude, while the Potomac seeks the Chesa- 
peake, or the Mississippi sweeps by Briarfield on its way 
to the Mexican sea. AVhen on the December midnight the 
worn warrior joined the ranks of the patient and prevailing 
ones, who - 

"Loved their land, with love far brought" — 

if one of the mighty dead gave the challenge : 

"Art thou of us? 
He answered : I am here." 

After the benediction, says the New Orleans Times-Dem- 
ocrat of December 12th, then came the most affecting por- 
tion of the entire service. Bishop Thompson surrendered 
his post at the head of the bier, and Rev. Father Hubert, of 
the Jesuit Church, stood once more beside the beloved re- 
mains. The priest's sensitive face was eloquent with over- 
whelming emotion. His gentle voice trembled with sup- 
pressed sorrow, and there were few dry eyes as he prayed 
with almost passionate fervor : 

"O God, loving and compassionate Father, in the name 
of my heart-broken comrades, I beseech Thee to behold 
us in our bereavement, from whom Thou has taken one 
who was to us a chief, a leader and a noble and constant 
exemplar. Thou knowest how, in time of his power, he 
ever took care that his soldiers should have with them 
thy ministers, to cheer, to warn, to teach them how to fight 
and to die for the right. See him now at the bar of Thy 
judgment, at the throne of Thy merry seat, and to him let 
justice and mercy be shown. And may we one day with 



HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. g47 

Mm love and bless and praise Thee , forevermore throuo-h 
our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen." " 

An immense and brilliant military cortege, composed 
of representative organizations from nearly every State of 
the late Confederacy, headed the funeral procession, the 
right of which was accorded to the Volunteer Southrons 
under the command of Captain C. J. Searles. This was a 
graceful recognition, in that Warren county was for many 
years the home of Jefferson Davis, and that the Vicksburo- 
Volunteer Southrons, so named in honor of two companies 
of the famous regiment Mr. Davis commanded in Mexico 
One was the Vicksburg Volunteers, commanded by Captain 
.(xeorge P. Crump, and the Southrons, commanded by Cap- 
tain John Willis. ^ 

There were Governors representing eight States of the 
late Confederacy, who were selected as honorary pall- 
bearers. These were Governor Francis T. Nicholls, of 
Louisiana, Governor Robert Lowry, of Misssissippi, Gov- 
ernor Simon B. Buckner, of Kentucky, Governor John B. 
Gordon, of Georgia, Governor J. S. Richardson, of South 
Carolina, Governor D. C. Fowle, of North Caro ina, Gov- 

rfTrlan^saf'""" '' ^^^^^'^' ^^^^^^'"^^ ^^^^ ^- ^^^'^' 
In addition to the honorary pall bearers, there were fifty- 
seven active pall bearers representing seven States of the 
late Confederacy, and one from Iowa in the person of the 
Hon. George W. Jones, a life-long friend, a classmate at 
Transylvania, and a colleague in the Senate of the great 
Missjssippian. *= 

Thus died and thus was buried all that was mortal of 
the great patriot, Jefferson Davis. He was followed to the 
grave by more than thirty thousand men and women, who 
loved the man and honored the soldier and the statesman 
In every capital of the late Confederate States, in every 
city, town and village within the boundaries of the Confed 
eracy there were funeral ceremonies on the day of hi 
burial in New Orleans. From every church in the South 
bells were tolled to denote the great sorrow that lad over 
shadowed the hearts and the homes of a proud Ind 
patriotic people. ^ ^"^ 



648 HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

The blow fell heaviest upon the hearts of the people of 
Mississippi, who loved and honored the son reared upon 
their soil, and who had reflected upon them and the State 
so much honor, as well upon the fleld of battle where he had 
led their sons to victory, as in the council chambers of the 
country. The people of Mississippi knew Jefferson Davis, 
and therefore honored and loved the man. They knew 
him as a scholar with a wealth of learning and a vast fund 
of information rarely equalled. They knew him as an 
able and accomplished statesman ; as a splendid soldier 
and unbending patriot ; they recognized in him the fear- 
less and indignant foe of all that was wrong, while they 
knew him as the eloquent advocate of whatever was just 
and right. They knew that the lips of Jefferson Davis 
were never polluted by falsehood. They know him as the 
constant friend of and expounder of the truth under all cir- 
cumstances. They knew that Jefferson Davis had pre- 
served, from youth to age, 

"The whiteness of his sou], and thus men o'er him wept?" 

Jefferson Davis was an intense American, and yet more 
intensely a Mississippian. He loved the State on whose 
soil he was reared as a child should love its mother. He 
was proud of the intellect and courage of the sons of the 
State, and yet more proud of the beauty, purity and con- 
stancy of her daughters. In every pulsation of his heart, 
in every fibre of his brain, he was a devoted son of Mis- 
sissippi, and he consecrated his life to her honor and pros- 
perity. He had the supremest confidence in the soldiers 
of Mississippi, and believed that when properly offi- 
cered, they could accomplish anything possible for mortal 
men to achieve, and hence the people of Mississippi be- 
lieve that his mortal remains should have their final rest- 
ing place in the soil of the State he loved so well, served 
so faithfully, and by whose people he had been so much 
beloved and honored. 



ERRATA. 



Page 389—7111 line from top, State levy should read 10 mills on the dollar instead 
of 10 cents. 



Page 413— In line 2, Administration of Governor Stone, read Gibson for "Giles" 
county as his birth-place. 



Page 415— In line i. Administration of Governor Lowry, read Chesterfield Dis- 
trict for "Chesterville," etc. 



Page 453— 6th line from bottom, for "Dr. N. S. Williams" read Dr. U. S Wil- 
liams." 



Page 469— 5th line, for "Rev. Henry Conn," read Rev. Matthew Conn. 



Page 469— 20th line, for "Jacob Millsaps," read Jackson Millsaps. 



Page 471— In 19th and 20th lines, it should read that Reuben Watts, instead of 
John Watts, was the father-in-law of Judge John E. McNair. 



Page 528— 8th line from bottom, "John S. Cameron" should read Malcolr 
Cameron. 



Page 553— It should appear that Hon. J. B. Boothe, and not Hon. Robert L. 
Taylor, was a delegate for State at-large in Constitutional Convention, 1890 
Mr. Taylor was a delegate from Panola county in that Convention. 



Page 574 — Last line, "Brandon" should read Branson. 



Page 575— For "Capt. N. W. Frank and Robert Crook," read, Capt H. W. 
Frank and Robert Crook. ' ' 



Page 606— 6th line from top, "Nolan Stewart" should read William Stewart. 



Page 606— Insert after "Farish" where name first occurs in line, Hazlewood Par- 
ish, (the latter being father of Capt. Wm. S. Farish.) 



U^ 



